''The Sunday Woman'' ( it, La donna della domenica) is a crime

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

by Italian authors Carlo Fruttero and

Franco Lucentini Franco Lucentini (; 24 December 1920 – 5 August 2002) was an Italian writer, journalist, translator and editor of anthologies. Biography Born in Rome on 24 December 1920 to Emma Marzi and Venanzio Lucentini, a miller from the village of Viss ...

, first published in 1972. It was subsequently translated into English by William Weaver in 1973. The novel is set in the city of Turin, and deals with the investigation of commissioner Santamaria about the murder of an architect of dubious fame, Garrone. Among the protagonists are Anna Carla Dosio, a beautiful and rich woman, and her friend Massimo Campi, a rich homosexual, who, while playing an intellectual game, had the architect Garrone killed in a letter. Later in the novel, Campi's boyfriend, Lello, a municipal clerk who was investigating by himself on the murder, is also killed. In the end of the novel, suspicions against the two are raised when Santamaria discovers that Garrone had been killed for his blackmailing, related to a project for a new quarter of buildings, against an old woman. The book is notable for its ironic portrait of Turin's

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

. It is also considered one of the first examples of modern Italian crime novels.

Film adaptation

A film adaptation of the same name, directed by Luigi Comencini, was released in 1976, starring

Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (28 September 1924 – 19 December 1996) was an Italian film actor, regarded as one of his country's most iconic male performers of the 20th century. He played leading roles for many of Italy's top di ...

as Santamaria, Jacqueline Bisset as Anna Carla and Jean-Louis Trintignant as Massimo. 1976 novels Italian crime novels 20th-century Italian novels Novels set in Turin Novels about architects Arnoldo Mondadori Editore books Italian novels adapted into films {{1970s-crime-novel-stub