That summer in Sicily: a love story

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Publisher:
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Pub. Date:
2008
Language:
English
Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“At villa Donnafugata, long ago is never very far away,” writes bestselling author Marlena de Blasi of the magnificent if somewhat ruined castle in the mountains of Sicily that she finds, accidentally, one summer while traveling with her husband, Fernando. There de Blasi is befriended by Tosca, the patroness of the villa, an elegant and beautiful woman-of-a-certain-age who recounts her lifelong love story with the last prince of Sicily descended from the French nobles of Anjou.

Sicily is a land of contrasts: grandeur and poverty, beauty and sufferance, illusion and candor. In a luminous and tantalizing voice, That Summer in Sicily re-creates Tosca’s life, from her impoverished childhood to her fairy-tale adoption and initiation into the glittering life of the prince’s palace, to the dawning and recognition of mutual love. But when Prince Leo attempts to better the lives of his peasants, his defiance of the local Mafia’s grim will to maintain the historical imbalance between the haves and the have-nots costs him dearly.

The present-day narrative finds Tosca sharing her considerable inherited wealth with a harmonious society composed of many of the women–now widowed–who once worked the prince’s land alongside their husbands. How the Sicilian widows go about their tasks, care for one another, and celebrate the rituals of a humble, well-lived life is the heart of this book.

Showcasing the same writerly gifts that made bestsellers of A Thousand Days in Venice and A Thousand Days in Tuscany, That Summer in Sicily, and de Blasi’ s marvelous storytelling, remind us that in order to live a rich life, one must embrace both life’s sorrow and its beauty. Here is an epic drama that takes readers from Sicily’s remote mountains to chaotic post-war Palermo, from the intricacies of forbidden love to the havoc wreaked by Sicily’s eternally bewildering culture.
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ISBN:
9780345497659
9780345513335
9781410409904
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Grouping Information

Grouped Work ID5efbceb2-910c-b254-ab4e-7e3e5558c834
Grouping Titlethat summer in sicily
Grouping Authormarlena de blasi
Grouping Categorybook
Grouping LanguageEnglish (eng)
Last Grouping Update2024-03-28 22:18:08PM
Last Indexed2024-03-28 22:25:00PM

Solr Fields

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De Blasi, Marlena
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display_description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“At villa Donnafugata, long ago is never very far away,” writes bestselling author Marlena de Blasi of the magnificent if somewhat ruined castle in the mountains of Sicily that she finds, accidentally, one summer while traveling with her husband, Fernando. There de Blasi is befriended by Tosca, the patroness of the villa, an elegant and beautiful woman-of-a-certain-age who recounts her lifelong love story with the last prince of Sicily descended from the French nobles of Anjou.

Sicily is a land of contrasts: grandeur and poverty, beauty and sufferance, illusion and candor. In a luminous and tantalizing voice, That Summer in Sicily re-creates Tosca’s life, from her impoverished childhood to her fairy-tale adoption and initiation into the glittering life of the prince’s palace, to the dawning and recognition of mutual love. But when Prince Leo attempts to better the lives of his peasants, his defiance of the local Mafia’s grim will to maintain the historical imbalance between the haves and the have-nots costs him dearly.

The present-day narrative finds Tosca sharing her considerable inherited wealth with a harmonious society composed of many of the women–now widowed–who once worked the prince’s land alongside their husbands. How the Sicilian widows go about their tasks, care for one another, and celebrate the rituals of a humble, well-lived life is the heart of this book.

Showcasing the same writerly gifts that made bestsellers of A Thousand Days in Venice and A Thousand Days in Tuscany, That Summer in Sicily, and de Blasi’ s marvelous storytelling, remind us that in order to live a rich life, one must embrace both life’s sorrow and its beauty. Here is an epic drama that takes readers from Sicily’s remote mountains to chaotic post-war Palermo, from the intricacies of forbidden love to the havoc wreaked by Sicily’s eternally bewildering culture.
format_category_eh
Books
eBook
format_eh
Book
Large Print
eBook
id
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last_indexed
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literary_form
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Online OverDrive
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East Hampton Public Library Online
owning_location_eh
Online OverDrive Collection
primary_isbn
9780345497659
publishDate
2008
publisher
Ballantine Books
Random House Publishing Group
Thorndike Press
recordtype
grouped_work
series
Marlena de Blasi
Thorndike Press large print nonfiction
series_with_volume
Marlena de Blasi|
Thorndike Press large print nonfiction|
subject_facet
Country life -- Italy -- Sicily
De Blasi, Marlena -- Travel -- Italy -- Sicily
Large type books
National characteristics, Sicilian
Sicily (Italy) -- Social life and customs -- 20th century
title_display
That summer in Sicily : a love story
title_full
That Summer in Sicily A Love Story
That summer in Sicily : a love story / Marlena de Blasi
That summer in Sicily : a love story / by Marlena de Blasi
title_short
That summer in Sicily
title_sub
a love story
topic_facet
Biography & Autobiography
Country life
De Blasi, Marlena
Family & Relationships
Large type books
National characteristics, Sicilian
Nonfiction
Social life and customs
Travel

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