This book comprehensively covers the history of Italian crime fiction from its origins to the present. Using the concept of moral rebellion, the author examines the ways in which Italian crime fiction has articulated the country s social and political changes. The book concentrates on such writers as Augusto de Angelis (1888 1944), Giorgio Scerbanenco (1911 1969), Leonardo Sciascia (1921 1989), Andrea Camilleri (b. 1925), Loriano Macchiavelli (b. 1934), Massimo Carlotto (b. 1956), and Marcello Fois (b. 1960). Through the analysis of writers belonging to differing crucial periods of Italy s history, this work reveals the many ways in which authors exploit the genre to reflect social transformation and dysfunction."