In her innocence Adriana dreamed of a home and happiness. But experience of men launched her into a more squalid street of life.

In this simple and poignant story of a Roman prostitute, Alberto Moravia pays a tribute to all humanity in his account of a woman caught up in the intrigues of criminals and police, surrendering to the loveless touch of strange men, and yet keeping intact the passionate honesty of her nature.

First published 1949.
Published in Penguin Books 1952. This edition 1976.
© Alberto Moravia 1949

"I was a real beauty..."

"Mother had said that although my face was beautiful, my figure was a hundred times more so; she said that there was not a figure like mine in all Rome."

This is Adriana, a magnificently beautiful, warmly sensual woman, who sells her body, but is never degraded; who loves and is loved; who essential goodness and strength survive all the assaults of weak and evil men.

Published as a SIGNET BOOK by Arrangement with Farrar, Straus & Young, Inc.
© 1949 by VALENTINO BOMPIANI & CO., S.A.
This edition September 1951