Going through Hell: A Guide to Dante's Inferno for the Intrepid Traveller

Offers readers an accessible and thoughtful tour of the Inferno, retelling the events in engaging, modern language.


Accompanying commentary explores the drama and imagery in each canto, stimulating further thought and suggesting how Dante's text can connect to our everyday lives.

Moving away from the literal story of the Inferno (which describes the condition of damned souls after death), Going through Hell considers the poem's description of what happens when we act self-centredly in the present. Such behaviour inhibits unified community, which is Dante's ideal for human life.

Going through Hell thus offers readers a mirror through which to observe ourselves and our world more clearly; the commentary serves as a dependable guide, helping us see into this mirror with insight and delight. Ultimately, Abrahamson presents a model of how deep engagement with great literature can be a fulfilling, joyful experience-with transformative potential for our lives and society.

ROBERT-LOUIS ABRAHAMSON is Emeritus Professor in the European Division of the University of Maryland. He was raised in Philadelphia and attended Amherst College, the University of Edinburgh and Rutgers University before settling in England in 1980. He has lectured and given talks on Dante over several decades, including 102 podcasts on The Divine Comedy and many episodes of his radio show Evening under Lamplight (Cambridge Radio) discussing the Inferno.