Written in 1902, Monna Vanna was Maeterlinck's first brilliant success. It was played on every important stage in Europe, except in England, where it was forbidden by censor. In 1911, Maeterlinck was honored with the Nobel Prize for literary achievement.
"It is the late fifteenth century, and the battered city of Pisa faces imminent vanquishment by the superior army of Florence. As the city's commander prepares for the inevitable end, he receives from the enemy an astonishing offer of rescue. The attack will be called off, the siege will be lifted, the starving city will be resupplied — on one condition. The commander's wife, a woman revered as the epitome of honor and virtue, must surrender her body for a night to the hated leader of the Florentine army.
"Thus begins Monna Vanna — and thus is unleashed a torrent of conflicts and sub-conflicts, masterfully orchestrated by the playwright, concerning the meaning of honor and the pursuit of values.
"You will find a noble, distinctively elevated spirit in this 1902 drama. All the characters, even minor ones, are loyally committed to some moral principle and act only out of profound conviction. There are no shallow men or petty motives here — only heroic figures, sublime choices and epic decisions." Second Renaissance, Inc., Publisher
