The Old God (Il vecchio Dio, 1926)

The tenth Collection of Stories for a Year was first published, with the same title, by Bemporad in 1926. Unlike most of the Collections, it contains only twelve stories (rather than the usual fifteen).

Pirandello’s early collection, When I Was Crazy (Quand’ero matto; Turin: Streglìo, 1902) already included eight of these twelve stories: “The Old God,” “To Civic Value,” “When I Was Crazy,” “Examination for a Post with the Council of State,” “In Corpore Vili,” “An Invitation to Dine,” “The Rising Sun,” and “Sicilian Limes.” These same eight likewise appeared in the subsequent edition of When I Was Crazy by the distinguished publisher Treves, in Milan (1919). “The Three Loved Ones” had first appeared in the collection Jests of Death and Life (Beffe della morte e della vita; Florence: Lumachi, 1902). “Tanino and Tanotto” was first collected in Whites and Blacks (Bianche e nere; Turin: Streglìo, 1904) and then republished in When I Was Crazy (Milan: Treves, 1919). “The Annuity” was collected first in the second edition of Beffe della morte e della vita (Florence: Lumachi, 1903) and then republished in Pirandello’s new volume Carnival of the Dead (Il carnevale dei morti; Florence: Battistelli, 1919).

Seven of the stories included in The Old God first came out in various newspapers and magazines: “In Corpore Vili,” which was initially titled “Ravanà (tra una messa e l’altra),” appeared in a different version from those that followed in the Gazzetta letteraria, June 15, 1895; “The Three Loved Ones” came out in La domenica italiana on August 29, 1894; “Sicilian Limes” was printed in Il Marzocco, May 20 and 27, 1900; and “Sunrise” likewise appeared in Il Marzocco, January 6, 1901 ; “The Annuity” was published in Natura ed arte, March 7-15, 1901; and both “The Old God” and “Tanino and Tanotto” came out in Il Marzocco, May 26, 1901 and May 11, 1902, respectively.

The story “Sicilian Limes” was the source for a comedy by the same name, which premiered in 1910 and was printed in Nuova Antologia the following year (March 16, 1911).

The Old God includes the following twelve short stories:

“The Old God” (“Il vecchio Dio”)
“Tanino and Tanotto” (“Tanino e Tanotto”)
“To Civic Value” (“Al valor civile”)
“Pythagoras’ Misfortune” (“La disdetta di Pitagora”)
“When I was Crazy” (“Quand’ero matto…”)
“Examination for a Post with the Council of State” (“Concorso per referendario al Consiglio di Stato”)
“In Corpore Vili” (“In corpore vili”)
“The Three Loved Ones” (“Le tre carissime”)
“The Annuity” (“Il vitalizio”)
“An Invitation to Dine” (“Un invito a tavola”)
“The Rising Sun” (“La levata del sole”)
“Sicilian Limes” (“Lumie di Sicilia”)