All Three (Tutt’e tre, 1924)

This seventh group of fifteen short stories was included in the 1924 Bemporad edition with the same title.

As always, some of these tales had already been published in other collected volumes: “All Three” (“Tutt’e tre”), initially titled “The Widows” (“Le vedove”), in The Two Masks (Le due maschere), published by Quattrini in Florence in 1914 and, with the new title, in Carnival of the Dead (Il carnevale dei morti), printed by Battistelli in Florence in 1919; “The Button of the Overcoat” (“Il bottone della palandrana”), “You Laugh” (“Tu ridi”), “The King Set Free” (“La liberazione del re”), and “The Two Partners” (“I due compari”), in the 1914 collection The Two Masks (Le due maschere); “The Shadow of Remorse” (“L’ombra del rimorso”), “The Tight Frock-Coat” (“Marsina stretta”), “My Wife’s Husband” (“Il marito di mia moglie”), “A Breath of Air” (“Filo d’aria”), and “An Ideal Marriage” (“Un matrimonio ideale”), in the 1919 collection Carnival of the Dead (Il carnevale dei morti); “Like Twin Sisters” (“Come gemelle”), in Whites and Blacks (Bianche e nere) published by Streglio in Turin in 1904; “Ms. Boccarmè, the Schoolmistress” (“La maestrina Boccarmè”), with the title “Salvation” (“Salvazione”), in When I Was Mad (Quand’ero matto) in 1902 and, with the current title, in the literary journal Novella, October, 1923.

Other short stories had been previously published in literary journals and magazines: “Water and There” (“Acqua e lì”), titled “Doctor Cemetery” (“Il dottor Cimitero”), first came out in the Rassegna settimanale universale, April 25, 1897. Four tales had appeared in Il Marzocco: “Ms. Boccarmè, the Schoolmistress,” titled “Salvation,” December 31, 1899; “The Tight Frock-Coat,” December 1, 1901; “Like Twin Sisters,” on January 11, 1903; and “My Wife’s Husband,” February 15, 1903; while nine stories had been previously published in the Corriere della Sera: “You Laugh,” October 6, 1912; “The Two Partners,” December 7, 1912; “The Overcoat’s Button,” January 15, 1913; “All Three” (“Tutt’e tre”), titled as “The Widowers” (“Le vedove”), May 14, 1913; “The Shadow of Remorse,” January 25, 1914; “Breath of Air” (“Filo d’aria”), April 26, 1914; “An Ideal Marriage” (“Un matrimonio ideale”), June 7, 1914; “Return” (“Ritorno”), October 3, 1923; and “Wine” (“Vino”), November 23, 1923.

The tale “The Shadow of Remorse” provided source material for the one-act play Bellavita, written and performed in 1927 at the Teatro Eden in Milan and published the following year. “The Tight Frock-Coat” was adapted into a film with the same title, directed and interpreted by Aldo Fabrizi as an episode of the 1954 film This Is Life (Questa è la vita) directed by Giorgio Pastina.

The thirteen short stories contained in the Collection All Three (Tutt’e tre) are:

“All Three” (“Tutt’e tre”)
“The Shadow’s Remorse” (“L’ombra del rimorso”)
“The Button of the Overcoat” (“Il bottone della palandrana”)
“The Tight Frock Coat” (“Marsina stretta”)
“My Wife’s Husband” (“Il marito di mia moglie”)
“Ms. Boccarmè, the Schoolmistress” (“La maestrina Boccarmè”)
“Water and There” (“Acqua e lì”)
“Like Twin Sisters” (“Come gemelli”)
“Breath of Air” (“Filo d’aria”)
“An Ideal Marriage” (“Un matrimonio ideale”)
“Return” (“Ritorno”)
“You Laugh” (“Tu ridi”)
“A Little Wine” (“Un po’ di vino”)
“The King Set Free” (“La liberazione del re”)
“The Two Partners” (“I due compari”)