Giorgio Scerbanenco
Encyclopedia
Giorgio Scerbanenco was an Italian
crime
writer.
, in what was then the Russian Empire
, on 28 July 1911. At an early age, his family immigrated to Rome
(Scerbanenco's father was Ukrainian, his mother was Italian), and then he moved to Milan when he was 18 years old.
He found work as a freelance writer for many Italian magazines, chief among them Anna Bella before becoming a novelist. His first fiction books were detective novels set in USA and clearly inspired by the works of Edgar Wallace
and S.S. Van Dine signed with an English-sounding pen name. While Scerbanenco wrote in several genres, he is famous in Italy for his crime and detective novels, many of which have been dramatized in Italian film and television http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769391/. These include the series of novels with main character Duca Lamberti, a physician struck off the register for having performed a euthanasia, and turned detective
(Venere privata - A Private Venus, 1966; Traditori di tutti - Betrayers of All, 1966; I ragazzi del massacro - The Boys of the Massacre, 1968; I milanesi ammazzano al sabato - The Milanese kill on Saturday, 1969), as well as Sei giorni di preavviso (Six Days of Notice), his first novel.
He died of a heart attack in Milan
on 27 October 1969.
As well as in Milan, the writer lived for a long period in Lignano Sabbiadoro
, a town on the Adriatic Sea
in Friuli-Venezia Giulia
. The town holds his archive.
His depiction of female characters is quite convincing and less stereotyped than one might expect, thanks to years of experience answering the letters of women magazines' readers.
At odds with his placid, remissive ways was his virulent and over-the-top anti-communism
which stemmed from the trauma of losing his father during the Russian revolution, the trauma of exile and the meager life in Rome which followed it.
This odd trait helped his popularity among Italian low and middle bourgeoisie, who felt reinforced in their social prejudices, but hampered his critical success in Italy; international critics (especially in France) did overlook this facet of his style and praised him when at home he was considered nothing more than a genre writer.
His writing, in the best known books, is Milan
ocentric, seldom if ever referencing other cities and regions of Italy, showing a degree of sympathy and appreciation for the Lombard city and its inhabitants which is rarely to be found in other writers. While denouncing the evils of the rampant consumeristic and greedy way of life taking hold from the 60s onward Scerbanenco always has a warm word for the peaceful, quiet, hard-working Milanese.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
crime
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
writer.
Life and works
He was born in KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, in what was then the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, on 28 July 1911. At an early age, his family immigrated to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
(Scerbanenco's father was Ukrainian, his mother was Italian), and then he moved to Milan when he was 18 years old.
He found work as a freelance writer for many Italian magazines, chief among them Anna Bella before becoming a novelist. His first fiction books were detective novels set in USA and clearly inspired by the works of Edgar Wallace
Edgar Wallace
Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was an English crime writer, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and numerous articles in newspapers and journals....
and S.S. Van Dine signed with an English-sounding pen name. While Scerbanenco wrote in several genres, he is famous in Italy for his crime and detective novels, many of which have been dramatized in Italian film and television http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769391/. These include the series of novels with main character Duca Lamberti, a physician struck off the register for having performed a euthanasia, and turned detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
(Venere privata - A Private Venus, 1966; Traditori di tutti - Betrayers of All, 1966; I ragazzi del massacro - The Boys of the Massacre, 1968; I milanesi ammazzano al sabato - The Milanese kill on Saturday, 1969), as well as Sei giorni di preavviso (Six Days of Notice), his first novel.
He died of a heart attack in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
on 27 October 1969.
As well as in Milan, the writer lived for a long period in Lignano Sabbiadoro
Lignano Sabbiadoro
Lignano Sabbiadoro is a village and comune within the province of Udine, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region . It is one of the main summer resorts in northern Italy and in the Adriatic Sea coast.-History:...
, a town on the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
in Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli–Venezia Giulia is one of the twenty regions of Italy, and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The capital is Trieste. It has an area of 7,858 km² and about 1.2 million inhabitants. A natural opening to the sea for many Central European countries, the region is...
. The town holds his archive.
Style
A frail, shy man, his style was notable for the realistic way in which conveyed and evoked the helplessness and despair of weak people being cruelly victimized.His depiction of female characters is quite convincing and less stereotyped than one might expect, thanks to years of experience answering the letters of women magazines' readers.
At odds with his placid, remissive ways was his virulent and over-the-top anti-communism
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
which stemmed from the trauma of losing his father during the Russian revolution, the trauma of exile and the meager life in Rome which followed it.
This odd trait helped his popularity among Italian low and middle bourgeoisie, who felt reinforced in their social prejudices, but hampered his critical success in Italy; international critics (especially in France) did overlook this facet of his style and praised him when at home he was considered nothing more than a genre writer.
His writing, in the best known books, is Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
ocentric, seldom if ever referencing other cities and regions of Italy, showing a degree of sympathy and appreciation for the Lombard city and its inhabitants which is rarely to be found in other writers. While denouncing the evils of the rampant consumeristic and greedy way of life taking hold from the 60s onward Scerbanenco always has a warm word for the peaceful, quiet, hard-working Milanese.