Who killed the Nameless One? The ideal continuation of “The Betrothed”

Who killed the Nameless One? Who could hate a man who, following his famous conversion, did nothing but good works? These are the opening questions of the latest novel by the writer Ben Pastor entitled "La pit dei wolves" (Mondadori, 2024, Euro 20, pp. 420. Also Ebook), a historical mystery set shortly after the events narrated by Manzoni in "I promessi spouses."

In fact, three years have passed since November 1628 when the adventures of Renzo, Lucia and Don Abbondio began. The two young spouses have settled down financially and are expecting their first child. The plague changed many things, hitting Don Rodrigo, Count Attilio, along with thousands of other people, with its deadly scythe. But now the death has passed and everything would seem to be turning for the better if their repentant persecutor, the Unnamed, born Bernardino Visconti, were not murdered in the mountains above Lecco, in an impervious place where wolves are hunted. It is not a crime that should leave the authorities indifferent and many wonder what is behind a murder destined to cause such a sensation. Was it someone who killed him who hadn't forgiven him for his old misdeeds? Or is the truth more elusive, perhaps dangerous?

These are questions that Diego Antonio de Olivares, a young lieutenant of justice who quickly realizes that his assignment is anything but simple, must answer. Because the story of Renzo and Lucia involved too many people and not all of them looked favorably on the work of the Unnamed, before but also after the conversion. Furthermore, his assassination leaves behind a considerable legacy and a tangle of interests to be unraveled.

However, Olivares has no intention of backing down and leaving no stone unturned. He has the tenacity and sense of duty of the man who for a long time dreamed of being part of the Jesuit order. He begins to collect facts, clues, to question all the people who have recently had a relationship with the murdered man. He meets - and thus allows us to meet again - Renzo, Lucia and his mother Agnese, Don Abbondio. We come across the "good guys" left without a job, in the criminal case of the Nun of Monza, and in a cultured and fascinating lady like Donna Polissena, in possession of something that will help an increasingly admired Olivares to solve the enigma. And to resolve, as far as possible, the conflict between flesh and spirit that makes him desire love within reach, but also long for a religious life and martyrdom in distant lands.

Page after page Olivares thus faces seductions and mortal risks, confronting hired assassins, soldiers of fortune, high-class courtesans, corrupt bankers, Capuchin friars and aristocrats who jealously guard their privileges. Will he find the key to the problem and be able to untie the knots in his own soul?

We will not reveal the answer, of course, and we will leave it to a highly atmospheric novel, Manzoni-like in its historical description and refined analysis of the different psychologies of the characters, which we find renewed, but faithful to Manzoni's intentions. Remaining in the wake of a tradition that has the charm of a literary masterpiece and an almost sacred prestige, Ben Pastor - as usual masterful in his historical reconstruction and in outlining his protagonists - renews the great lesson of The Betrothed, a lesson on the value of History, on power and its abuses, on right, law and authority and, above all, on that jumble that is the human soul. Anyone who has read Manzoni's masterpiece and wondered what could have happened after the conclusion of the novel will find an answer in these pages that lives up to their expectations.