The Silent Duchess

The Florentine Maraini published her first novel, "La Vacanza" (The Holiday), which treats the theme of contemporary female sexuality, in 1962. The next year, she was awarded the Formentor Prize for the novel "L'Era del Malessere" (The Age of Malaise). Later in the decade, she moved almost exclusively to theater, establishing the Teatro di Centocelle in Rome in 1969. Though she resumed prose writing, and also has published numerous collections of poetry, she is best known as one of the most important voices in contemporary Italian theater, a writer, director, and producer. In all of her works, Maraini's protaganists are women, often in conflict with men, who are seeking female solidarity.

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