I Promessi Sposi (English The Betrothed) is an Italian historical novel by Alessandro Manzoni. It is the most famous and widely read novel of the Italian language. Based in northern Italy in the early 17th century, during the terrible, oppressive years under Spanish rule, it is really a veiled attack on Austria, who controlled the region at the time of writing (the definitive version was published in 1842). It is also noted for the extraordinary description of the plague that struck Milan in 1630. Far from being merely a political or historical work, however, the novel deals with a variety of themes, from the cowardly, hypocritical nature of the Catholic Church to the unwavering strength of love, and offers some keen insights into the meanderings of the human mind. Widely underappreciated outside of Italy, it is one of the great European novels of the 19th century.