Guglielmo Ferrero’s novel, whose title translates to Between Two Worlds, follows Carlo, a man caught in an impossible double life. By day, he is a successful, conservative lawyer, moving through Rome’s high society and upholding the very order he secretly despises. By night, he becomes ‘Marco,’ a fervent anarchist conspiring with a small cell to overthrow the government. The story tracks the mounting pressure as these two identities—the respectable citizen and the dangerous radical—start to collide. His lies become more tangled, his loyalties fray, and the risk of exposure grows with every passing day.

Why You Should Read It

What grabbed me wasn’t the politics, but the person at the center. Carlo isn’t a hero or a villain; he’s painfully human. Ferrero makes you feel the exhausting weight of living a lie, the paranoia, and the strange loneliness of having two selves. Written in the 1890s, it’s startling how current it feels. We all know what it’s like to wear a mask, to have a public face and a private one. This book takes that everyday feeling and pushes it to a life-or-death extreme.

Final Verdict

This is a great pick if you like character-driven historical fiction or stories about identity and moral conflict. It’s not a fast-paced thriller, but a slow-burn, psychological portrait. You’ll get the most out of it if you enjoy getting inside a character’s head and wrestling with big questions about authenticity and belief. A fascinating, overlooked gem from Italy’s past that still speaks clearly to our present.