Summary

In “Seventeen Poisoned Englishmen,” the first thing Prudencia noticed upon arriving in Naples was the smell. At 72, she felt tired and alone. She was even more upset when she noticed a dead body floating in the water. She was overcome with a sense of homesickness and hopelessness. While the police handled the body, a “carnival confusion” occurred “on the pier” (119). Prudencia was overwhelmed by these events.

Since her husband’s death, Prudencia’s greatest dream was to go to Italy to meet the Pope. Her friend’s son was supposed to meet her in Naples and help her “through the procedures for continuing on to Rome” (121). When the son failed to arrive after several hours, a man informed her all of Italy was “on vacation” (121). Distraught and alone, Prudencia took a taxi to a hotel. Everything...