The Land of Cockayne

The Land of Cockayne is an impactful Italian fiction based on the passion for gambling and the sinful effect of the national lottery in Naples on all the classes of society. The lottery proves to be fun but ultimately a curse for the Marquis of Formosa, Gaetano, the glove-maker, Carmela, the factory girl, and her bold lover Raffaele. Cesare, a rich pastry maker, loses everything he has in the hope of obtaining money from the lottery for a new journey. The Marquis is a wreck and is ready to sacrifice his weak daughter, Lady Bianca, to his awful passion. A medium he and his friends take advice from about gambling makes him believe that Bianca's virtue may call on the spirits to indicate the lucky numbers. The Marquis ruins her health and happiness, trying to push the powerless, frail girl to see ghosts. The novel covers many significant events that follow in a way that will move the reader.

The story presents incredibly the details on Naples, its people, and their never-ending desire to get rich through gambling, no matter the consequences.