Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (1896–1957) is a representative of an ancient aristocratic family, a brilliant polymath and a master of deeply psychological and poignantly poetic writing. The novel “The Cheetah,” which brought the author posthumous fame, has long taken a prominent place among the most striking examples of European classics. Louis Aragon called Lampedusa’s work “one of the great novels of all time,” and the famous Luchino Visconti received the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for its film adaptation starring Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon and Burt Lancaster. The great book was first translated into Russian more than forty years ago under the title “The Leopard”. Now she returns to Russia - in a new translation and under her true name. The novel is set in the 60s of the 19th century, when Giuseppe Garibaldi led the movement for the unification of Italy and its liberation from foreign domination. In Sicily, where the Garibaldians land, the old prince Fabrizio Corbera di Salina sadly watches the death of his class under the onslaught of political storms...