Written as an epistolary monologue,
Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis is a compelling portrayal of a troubled mind. Published here for the first time in the English language, it is presented with Foscolo's highly acclaimed poem,
Of Tombs. Banished from his homeland and from the woman he loves, Jacopo Ortis lives with the insufferable feelings of disillusionment and betrayal. Gone are his youthful dreams of literary glory, and in their place only his embittered laughter at fortune, at men, and at God. In the anguish of his state he feels himself compelled to make one final, titanic, and tragic gesture to the rulers of his age.
