A young American student spends a year in the exotic world of post-World War I Rome. While there, he experiences firsthand the waning days of a secret community (a "cabala") of decaying royalty, a great cardinal of the Roman Church, and an assortment of memorable American ex-pats. The Cabala, a semiautobiographical novel of unforgettable characters and human passions, launched Wilder's career as a celebrated storyteller and dramatist.
While the plot is slight, the series of character studies of the set of people he comes to know are masterfully brought to life.
Quotes are from Goodreads and cannot be used in the intro/summary.An uneventful and plotless but beautifully written story of a young American who is befriended by a group of well-to-do socialites in 1920's Rome. It was Wilders first book and hinted at the enormous talent that he would demonstrate in his later writings.
It's Full View for me on HathiTrust, so I think it's Full View everywhere. But he died in 1975, so it's not PD everywhere.
https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/002872608?type%5B%5D=all&lookfor%5B%5D=The%20Cabala&ft=ft