Leonardo Sciascia

Leonardo Sciascia was born in Racalmuto, Sicily, on 8 January 1921 and died in Palermo on 20 November 1989. His books, which range from detective fiction to essays, epitomise the clash between reality and appearances. With subtle humour and sharp intelligence, his protagonists reveal the contradictions and ambiguities of twentieth-century Italy, and of Sicily in particular. His best-known works include To Each His Own, The Day of the Owl, One Way or Another, The Disappearance of Majorana, and A Simple Story. In 1968, in issue 11 of Rivista Pirelli, he published an article entitled Storie di vetro, accompanied by photographs by Enzo Sellerio.