Emilio Salgari

Emilio Salgari (Italian pronunciation: [eˈmiːljo salˈɡaːri], but often erroneously pronounced [ˈsalɡari]; 21 August 1862 – 25 April 1911) was an Italian writer of action adventure swashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction.

In Italy, his extensive body of work was more widely read than that of Dante Alighieri. In the 21st century, he is still among the 40 most translated Italian authors. Many of his most popular novels have been adapted as comics, animated series and feature films. He is considered the father of Italian adventure fiction and Italian pop culture, and the "grandfather" of the Spaghetti Western.

Life

Emilio Salgari was born in Verona to a family of modest merchants. From a young age, he had the desire to explore the seas; he studied seamanship at a nautical technical institution in Venice, but his academic performance was too poor, and he never graduated.

He began his writing career as a reporter for the daily La Nuova Arena, which published some of his work as serials. There, under the pseudonym Emilius, he wrote theatre reviews covering operas, operettas, ballets, and dramatic performances.. As his powers of narration grew, so did his reputation for having lived a life of adventure. He claimed to have explored the Sudan desert, met Buffalo Bill in Nebraska (he had actually met him during his "Wild West Show" tour of Italy), and sailed the Seven Seas. His early biographies were filled with adventurous tales set in the Far East, events which he claimed were the basis for much of his work. Salgari had actually never ventured farther than the Adriatic Sea.