Candelora (1928)

The thirteenth Collection in Stories for a Year also appeared with the same title in the volumes published by Bemporad in 1928; however, all fifteen of the stories included in it had already been grouped together in the earlier collection And Tomorrow, Monday (E domani, lunedì; Milan: Treves, 1917), which also included some additional stories not later collected in Candelora (including “The Hand of the Indigent Invalid” (“La mano del malato povero”) and “Mrs. Frola and Mr. Ponza, her Son-in law” (“La Signora Frola e il Signor Ponza, suo genero”), which appeared in different collections later).

Nine of these fifteen stories were previously published in various newspapers and magazines: “I Have So Many Things to Tell You…” in the Corriere della Sera, December 7, 1911 ; “By Himself” in the Rassegna contemporanea, November 10, 1913; “A Portrait” in the Corriere della Sera, June 21, 1914; “Servitude” in the Corriere della Sera, July 30, 1914; “The Reality of the Dream” in Noi e il mondo, November, 1914; “The Rose” in La lettura, November, 1914; “Zuccarello the Distinguished Melodist” in La grande illustrazione, December, 1914; “The Lord of the Ship” in Noi e il mondo, January, 1916; and “The Waiting Room” in La lettura, May, 1916.

The tragedy The Life I Gave You (La vita che ti diede) was based on the short story “The Waiting Room,” along with “The Pensioners of Memory.” It premiered in 1923.

The one-act comedy The Festival of Our Lord of the Ship (Sagra del Signore della nave) was adapted from the short story “The Lord of the Ship.” The play was published by Bemporad and also premiered on stage in 1925.

The comedy One Does Not Know How (Non si sa come, a drama in three acts) was drawn from the story “The Reality of the Dream,” combined with elements from two other stories, “In the Whirlpool” and “Cinci.” This late play premiered on December 13, 1935.

Stefano Laudi, the pseudonym of Pirandello’s son Stefano Pirandello, worked with Corrado Alvaro to write a screenplay based on the story “Romolo”; the film was titled Terra di nessuno (1939).

Stefano Landi also oversaw the film adaptation of the story “The Rose” into a movie with the same title (La rosa), which was made by A. Fratelli in 1921.

Candelora consists of the following fifteen stories (which constitute the final version of this Collection):

“Candelora” (“Candelora”)
“The Lord of the Ship” (“Il signore della nave”)
“The Waiting Room” (“La camera in attesa”)
“Romolo” (“Romulus”)
“The Rose” (“La rosa”)
“By Himself” (“Da sé”)
“The Reality of the Dream” (“La realtà del sogno”)
“Feather” (“Piuma”)
“A Portrait” (“Un ritratto”)
“Zuccarello the Distinguished Melodist” (“Zuccarello distinto melodista”)
“Servitude” (“Servitù”)
“I Have So Many Things to Tell You…” (“Ho tante cose da dirvi...”)
“While the Heart Suffered” (“Mentre il cuore soffriva”)
“The Wheelbarrow” (“La carriola”)
“Some Guy Died in the Hotel” (“Nell’albergo è morto un tale”)