Daniele Varè (12 January 1880 – 27 February 1956) was an

Italia Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

n expatriate diplomat and author, most famous for the China-set novel ''The Maker of Heavenly Trousers'' (republished in 2012 by

Penguin Modern Classics Penguin Classics is an imprint of Penguin Books under which classic works of literature are published in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean among other languages. Literary critics see books in this series as important members of the Wester ...

). He is also remembered for the ''Laughing Diplomat'' ( John Murray, 1938), his autobiography as Italian

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

. Varè's father, Giovanni Battista Varè (Venice 1817 – Rome 1884), a lawyer, of the ''L'Indipendente'' newspaper and associate of

Daniel Manin Daniele Manin (13 May 180422 September 1857) was an Italian patriot, statesman and leader of the Risorgimento in Venice. Many Italian historians consider him to be an important figure in Italian unification. Early and family life left, House i ...

: hence as an Italian nationalist he was exiled from northern Italy by the then Austrian authorities. Later he was vice-president of the Venetian Assembly and della camera Italiana : ministero Guardasigilli del Regno (Ministri di grazia e giustizia del Regno d'Italia) in 1879. Varè spent his early years in the UK, returning to Italy with his Scottish mother at the age of 11. His mother had met Giambattista in Rome in 1872 and married him in 1873. Young Daniele entered the Italian Diplomatic Service in 1907 and was first assigned to China in 1912. In 1909 he had married Elizabeth ''Bettina'' Chalmers of Aldbar Castle near Brechin. He returned as Italian Minister (Ambassador) to the Republican Government in China between 1927 and 1931. In

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

he had as a subordinate

Galeazzo Ciano Gian Galeazzo Ciano, 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari ( , ; 18 March 1903 – 11 January 1944) was an Italian diplomat and politician who served as Foreign Minister in the government of his father-in-law, Benito Mussolini, from 1936 until 19 ...

(later to become

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

). He also served in Geneva, Copenhagen and Luxembourg. In 1932, while serving as Ambassador to Denmark, he was forced to resign by the Fascist Regime as many other Italian Diplomats. Hence he originally published in English and only later in Italian.

Works

His novels include: ''The Maker of Heavenly Trousers'' (''Der Schneider himmlischer Hosen'') (1926), was followed by ''The Gate of Happy Sparrows'' (1937) and ''The Temple of Costly Experience'' (''Der Tempel der kostbaren Weisheit'') (1939), set in the early twentieth century in the Chinese capital of Peking, where the author spent two lengthy periods serving as a diplomat in the Italian Legation as a First Secretary (1912–1920) and later, Minister (1927–1931). Other works were: ''Princess in Tartary: a Play for Marionettes in Two Acts and an Epilogue'' (1940); ''Gaia Melodia. Romanzo'' (1944); ''The Last of the Empresses and the Passing from the Old China to the New'' (1947); ''Twilight of the Kings'' (1948) - memoir/reminiscences; ''The Two Imposters'' (1949) - essays/journals/memoir; ''The Doge's Ring'' (1949); ''Ghosts of the Spanish Steps'' (1955) - essays/pen portraits; ''Ghosts of the Rialto'' - essays/pen portraits (1956); ''Palma'' (1957).

References

The Spectator's review of his biography, (Laughing Diplomat), 30 September 1938.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vare, Daniele 1880 births 1956 deaths 20th-century Italian male writers Ambassadors of Italy to China Italian diplomats Place of birth missing 20th-century diplomats 20th-century Italian novelists