Born to an ancient noble family and grandson of a noted social reformer, this man wrote the first and one of the most famous examples of its genre in his native language -- a work set in the early 17th century that has been filmed several times. One of his great countrymen commemorated his death in music. Who was this author, what did he write, who was his grandfather, and what is the musical composition?

peasypod

This sounds very much like Dumas and his Musketeers...hang on I'll go check. Aug 25 06, 6:33 PM

peasypod

Then again, Aleksandr Pushkin is lookin' pretty good... Aug 25 06, 7:15 PM

lanfranco

Nope, peasy, you need to move closer to "home," so to speak ... Aug 25 06, 7:32 PM

peasypod

I'm getting there...just in the middle of diddling the taxman---priorities, m'dear. I'll keep looking in between 'deductions'. ;) Aug 25 06, 7:35 PM

peasypod

Hmmmmm, wondering if this could be Alessandro Manzoni? Verdi dedicated his 'Requiem' on the first anniversary of Manzoni's death. He wrote 'I Promessi Sposi', which most would know as 'The Betrothed'. His grandfather was Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandro_Manzoni Got to get to work now.... Aug 26 06, 12:40 AM

lanfranco

That's the guy, peasy, and you get the mazza d'argento. (Sounds rather good in Italian.) Had you not come up with the answer, I had intended to offer as a clue the fact that the book is very "engaging" .... Aug 26 06, 4:51 PM

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Nephew of a Queen's favorite and son-in-law of her spymaster, he dedicated his most famous work to yet another relative, who was a patron of poets. That work influenced a great playwright and a novelist, and is said to have been quoted by a king as he went to his death. Who was this man, and what is the work? In the late 18th century, a British jurist who had been studying native Indian law codes gave an address in Calcutta and offered an interesting hypothesis. Who was this man, and what did he suggest? Which famous character in a 19th century novel is said to have been based on a foreign author who outstayed his welcome? This man was born in Scotland and moved to the United States as an adult. Much of his work is attributed to a more famous counterpart, but it is known he was the last one to photograph a certain president. Who is he, who was his counterpart, and who was the president?

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