The majestic and haunting beauty of the Italian Alps is the setting of the first meeting of Enza, a practical beauty, and Ciro, a strapping mountain boy, who meet as teenagers, despite growing up in villages just a few miles apart. At the turn of the last century, when Ciro catches the local priest in a scandal, he is banished from his village and sent to hide in America as an apprentice to a shoemaker in Little Italy. Without explanation, he leaves a bereft Enza behind. Soon, Enza's family faces disaster and she, too, is forced to go to America with her father to secure their future. Unbeknownst to one another, they both build fledgling lives in America, Ciro masters shoemaking and Enza takes a factory job in Hoboken until fate intervenes and reunites them. But it is too late: Ciro has volunteered to serve in World War I and Enza, determined to forge a life without him, begins her impressive career as a seamstress at the Metropolitan Opera House that will sweep her into the glamorous salons of Manhattan and into the life of the international singing sensation, Enrico Caruso. From the stately mansions of Carnegie Hill, to the cobblestone streets of Little Italy, over the perilous cliffs of northern Italy, to the white-capped lakes of northern Minnesota, these star-crossed lovers meet and separate, until, finally, the power of their love changes both of their lives forever. Lush and evocative, told in tantalizing detail and enriched with lovable, unforgettable characters, The Shoemaker's Wife is a portrait of the times, the places and the people who defined the immigrant experience, claiming their portion of the American dream with ambition and resolve, cutting it to fit their needs like the finest Italian silk. This riveting historical epic of love and family, war and loss, risk and destiny is the novel Adriana Trigiani was born to write, one inspired by her own family history and the love of tradition that has propelled her body of bestselling novels to international acclaim. Like Lucia, Lucia, The Shoemaker's Wife defines an era with clarity and splendor, with operatic scope and a vivid cast of characters who will live on in the imaginations of readers for years to come. Amazon.com Review Kathryn Stockett Interviews Adriana Trigiani Kathryn Stockett was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. After graduating from the University of Alabama with a degree in English and Creative Writing, she moved to New York City, where she worked in magazine publishing and marketing for nine years. The Help is her first novel. Kathryn Stockett: This is by far your most epic novel to date. How long did it take you to write The Shoemaker’s Wife? Adriana Trigiani: I worked on this story for over 20 years as I wrote scripts and novels and had my own family. There are scraps of paper, dinner napkins, and bills with timelines and notes scrawled across them. There are old notebooks filled with my grandmother’s musings from 1985. I collected train tickets, copies of ships’ manifests, and a silk tag with my grandmother’s name from garments she had created. I traveled as far as the Italian Alps and as close as the few blocks it takes me to walk to Little Italy in New York City to capture the historical aspects of the story. All of this went into the novel. It was a delicious gestation period.Stockett: This is a novel, but it is inspired by a true story—a family story, right?Trigiani: Yes—my grandparents, Lucia and Carlo. Their love was a dance with fate. It is riddled with near misses against a landscape of such massive world events that it’s a wonder they got together at all. My challenge was to present their world to the reader so it might feel it was happening in the moment. I wanted the reader to have the experience I had when stories were told to me by the woman who lived them.Stockett: The novel takes place during the first half of the twentieth century--what is so compelling about this period of time to you?Trigiani: The cusp of the twentieth century was a time everything was new—cars, phones, planes, electricity, even sportswear, and in each innovation was a kind of explosive potential. No one could predict where all the inventions would lead, people only knew that change was unavoidable.My grandparents were delighted every time America presented them with something they had never seen before. And my grandparents’ sense of wonder never left them, so I tried not to let it leave the page, be it a cross-country train ride or the first snap of the bobbin on an electric Singer sewing machine.Stockett: Through the remarkable story of Enza and Ciro, your novel tells the larger story of the immigrant experience in America.Trigiani: What a gift immigrants were and are to this country! They bring their talents and loyalty and make our country even greater. My grandparents were proud to be new Americans. Assimilation was not about copying an American ideal, but aspiring to their own version of it. The highest compliment you could pay a fellow immigrant was: he (or she) was a hard worker. I hear the phrase work like an immigrant said, but really, it’s bigger than that—we must also dream like immigrants.Stockett: The Shoemaker’s Wife seamlessly brings together fictional characters and historical figures—how did the wonderful Caruso enter the novel?Trigiani: It started with a three-foot stack of vinyl records—my grandmother Lucia’s collection of Caruso. Her absolute devotion to The Great Voice lasted her whole life long. I knew, in order to write this novel, I had to fall in love with Caruso too, because he sang the score of my grandparents’ love affair.When Lucia passed, I went to my first opera, seeking understanding and comfort. As the music washed over me, I began to understand why my grandmother was such a fan. The words were Italian, and the emotions were big; nothing was left unexpressed in the music. If only life were that way.Review“Within the pages of this novel, Trigiani’s 10th, is a gloriously romantic yet sensible world that seamlessly blends practicality and beauty…built around the staggering cultural and social changes the war years swept in…. Trigiani’s very best…exquisite writing and a story enriched by the power of abiding love.” (USA Today )“I’ve always loved reading Trigiani, but [this] is something totally new and completely wonderful: a rich, sweeping epic which tells the story of the women and men who built America dream by dream. If you’re meeting her work for the first time, get ready for a lifelong love affair. Splendid.” (Kathryn Stockett, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Help )“The breathtaking… historical novel sparkles in exquisite details and vivid descriptions.” (Huffington Post )“The novel is a sweeping epic, but at its heart, it’s a love story. It speaks to an era of possibilities.” (Providence Journal )“This expansive epic, which seems tailor-made for a miniseries, manages to feel both old-fashioned and thoroughly contemporary…[an] irresistible love story.” (Booklist )“Trigiani’s gift for using vivid details to create a strong sense of place and her warm affection for her characters will make this a satisfying read for her many fans.” (Library Journal ) Views: 60
Tania, the lovely daughter of the late Lord Amesly, leaves her school in Paris and is travelling to Boulogne when her train crashes. Amongst the fear and confusion she is helped and befriended by a charming young Englishman – Captain Rupert More – and with him she reaches the ferry where she unexpectedly meets two friends of her late parents, Charles and Selina Bracebridge.Captivated by Tania, and awed by her bravery in the face of adversity, Rupert is convinced that she is uniquely special. Tania, innocent in the ways of love having spent so long in her convent school, is similarly smitten by the dashing young Captain. It seems that Cupid's bow has struck in the most unusual of circumstances, but as the young couple get to know each other their happiness is shattered by the threat of war in the Crimea.Promising that she will wait for him, Rupert prepares himself for the battlefield. Back in London Tania's hostile stepmother makes it clear that her... Views: 60
From a great master of historical fiction comes a brilliant tale of love amid war. James A. Michener combines powerful storytelling with gentle sensitivity in this novel of a U.S. army man who falls for a fascinating Japanese woman against all odds. Major Lloyd Gruver considers himself lucky. The son of an army general, dating the daughter of another powerful military family, his future looks impossibly bright. Stationed in beautiful, exotic Japan, he just can’t understand guys like Private Joe Kelly, who throws away his life in the States by marrying one of the local girls. Then Lloyd meets Hana-ogi. After that, nothing matters anymore . . . nothing but her. Views: 60
In such modern classics as Chesapeake, Centennial, Hawaii, Alaska, and Texas, James A. Michener proved time and again that his understanding of and love for his country was unparalleled. This Noble Land is Michener's most personal statement about America, an examination of the issues that threaten to fragment and undermine the nation--racial conflict, the widening gulf between rich and poor, the decline of education, the inadequacies of our health care system--as well as a thought-provoking prescription for sustaining our "outstanding success." First published shortly before Michener's death, This Noble Land stands as a wake-up call for a troubled era, infused with the wisdom and passion of a lifetime. Praise for This Noble Land "A book-length essay on the often worrying, often inspiring course of America in the nine decades of Michener's life."--The Washington Post "Michener is... Views: 60
The daughter of a wealthy, ambitios man, Rowena knew that her father longed to marry her to a title, preferably the Duke of Wenfield, whom she disliked and did not wish to marry herself. To avoid marriage, they hatched a plot.Posing as brother and sister, they would take a trip on a yacht with their like-minded friends and would help each other find the love of their dreams. Plans went awry on the Mediterranean, when Rowna was kidnapped by a Sultan, and was imprisoned in his harem. It seemed that they would be parted forever.How the Duke rescued her, and they found their true love, is all told in this exciting and romantic novel by Barbara Cartland. Views: 60
Chills - Book 1 Jack, Marquess of Ettington, is at his wits end dealing with his twin sister's distress. Under her name, he's summoned Constance Grange, his vexing former ward, to London to act as his sister's companion for the season. Although Pixie's debt-ridden state comes as a complete surprise, what disturbs him more is his sister's plan to find her a wealthy husband to pay off her overwhelming debts. And--despite his availability, wealth and title--he's shocked to be overlooked for the position of Pixie's husband. With a nickname like Pixie, Constance Grange should be used to disasters, but debt collectors pounding on the Marquess of Ettington's door demanding payment is beyond mortifying. Given the precarious state of her finances and the previously unknown loss of her family estate, her choices are either incarceration in debtors' prison or turning fortune hunter to secure a wealthy husband. Yet the man that comes to her rescue more times than she cares to think about is unavailable, betrothed, and her former guardian Jack. Broken - Book 2 Unrepentant rogue, Giles Wexham, Earl of Daventry, wrings pleasure from every moment and likes his carefree life exactly as it is. During his summer retreat to the country, he becomes reluctant host and nursemaid to his former betrothed, a woman he’d thought long dead, a woman Giles had mistaken for a ghost while he'd found pleasure in another woman's arms. Unbearable pain has kept Lillian Winter apart from society since the accident that ruined her life. She's endured six years of agony at the hands of incompetent practitioners and longs for an end to her suffering. Finding herself in the Earl of Daventry's care brings surprising relief from her injuries, and a longing for the life denied her. Yet as new-found pleasures lower Lilly's resistance to the wicked earl, a long-forgotten danger returns to stalk her. Charity - Book 3 All of London is agog for the wedding of Oscar Ryall, the charming Lord Carrington, to this season's diamond of the marriage mart. Yet Oscar himself is less than happy with the circumstances that brought about his match to the coldest woman he's ever met. A woman he'd schemed to capture from the start, but who trapped him by scandal instead. Although bred to do his duty and wed as arranged, he's plagued by doubts about marrying the girl. Agatha Birkenstock was devastated by Oscar's betrothal and his offer of carte blanche broke her heart. Granddaughter to a wealthy cit, Agatha could never be happy as Oscar's mistress and vows to protect her heart. But when they're forced to work together to save her beloved orphanage from closure, she's hard pressed to keep a proper distance. Although few in society seem to notice, Agatha glimpses the suffering in his eyes and against all sense, risks her heart again. Three regency romance novels in one bundle. Views: 60
