The ring and the book

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.