Inferno

The first part of the Divine Comedy, written in the early fourteenth century, follows the pilgrim Dante, lost in a dark wood, as the Roman poet Virgil leads him down through Hell. They descend nine circles in which the damned are punished according to the nature of their sin, from the unbaptised and the lustful through the violent to the frauds and, at the frozen centre, the traitors. Historical and legendary figures speak, argue, and display their wounds. The poem is an allegorical journey in terza rima: a map of moral failure and a political reckoning with Florence and the empire, ending at the exit toward Purgatory.

Bound in quarter leather with moire silk sides. Inked top edge. Dark brown slipcase with illustration on front panel.