The Serpent in the Cave, by Emilio Salgari (1862–1911): on the trail of a monster in the Amazon jungle

Michael Henrik Wynn, the editor of the educational net radio stream Historyradio.org, narrates a classic boys’ adventure by Emilio Salgari (1862–1911), one of Italy’s most prolific and bestselling authors. Set in the jungles of the Amazon, the tale follows hunters in pursuit of a legendary serpent of colossal size.

The story brims with action-filled passages reminiscent of Indiana Jones and draws listeners into an exotic landscape where forked tongues and sharp teeth lurk in dark caves.

Salgari was an armchair adventurer of the worst kind, and his descriptions of indigenous peoples are marked by the prejudices common in his day. Yet, because his yarn is so preposterous and grounded in practically no first-hand experience, it is perhaps possible to forgive as mere entertainment.

This is a journey with the “grandfather” of Italian popular fiction—the Italian counterpart to Karl May (1842–1912) in Germany and H. Rider Haggard (1856–1925) in Britain.

The short intro was adapted from a creative commons flamenco performance at YouTube.