Leonardo Sciascia (1921-1989) was born in Racamulto, Sicily. Starting in the 1950s, he established himself in Italy as a novelist and essayist, and also as a controversial commentator on political affairs. Among his many other books are
Salt on the Wound, a biography of a Sicilian town,
The Council of Egypt, an historical novel, and
Todo Modo, a book in a genre that Sciascia could be said to have invented: the metaphysical mystery.
Peter Robb is the author of
Midnight in Sicily, which centers around the trial of notorious Sicilian mafiosi, as well as
M: The Man Who Became Caravaggio.