The Comedy of Dante Alighieri

Jan 11, 2026 1:08 PM

Author:Dante Alighieri

Guided by the poet Virgil, Dante plunges to the very depths of Hell and embarks on his arduous journey towards God. Together they descend through the nine circles of the underworld and encounter the tormented souls of the damned - from heretics and pagans to gluttons, criminals and seducers - who tell of their sad fates and predict events still to come in Dante’s life. In this first part of his Divine Comedy, Dante fused satire and humour with intellect and soaring passion to create an immortal Christian allegory of mankind’s search for self-knowledge and spiritual enlightenment.

Reviews

Behind all the velvet drapes and gossamer winding sheets, this is an old-fashioned family saga - Rice's descriptive writing is so opulent it almost begs to be read by candlelight

—— Washington Post Book World

The sequel and conclusion to Rice's The Witching Hour shows Rice at her best ... The novel lights up with rocket blast

—— Kirkus Reviews

Erotic ... Eerie ... Horrifying ... A tight tale of the occult in present-day New Orleans

—— Denver Post

An exuberant novel... the lost dreams of a battered, once beautiful city have a tangible presence

—— Financial Times

Fowles is an artist of great imaginative power

—— Sunday Times

These extraordinary diaries... should help bring about his richly deserved resuscitation

—— Spectator

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