The Ring and the Book is a long dramatic narrative
poem of 21,000 lines written by Robert Browning. It was published in four
installments from 1868 to 1869.
The book tells the story of a murder trial in Rome in 1698, whereby an
impoverished nobleman, Count Guido Franceschini, is found guilty of the murders
of his young wife Pompilia Comparini and her parents, having suspected his wife
was having an affair with a young cleric, Giuseppe Caponsacchi. Having been
found guilty despite his protests and sentenced to death, Franceschini then
appeals - unsuccessfully - to Pope Innocent XII to overturn the conviction. The
poem comprises twelve books, each a dramatic monologue spoken by a different
narrator involved in the case, usually giving a different account of the same
events.
— Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
