An Italian Girl in Brooklyn (Unabridged)
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4.0 • 8 Ratings
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- £9.99
Publisher Description
Dark secrets and hidden sorrows abound in Santa Montefiore’s spellbinding novel set in war-torn Italy and the streets of New York.
'Nobody does epic romance like Santa Montefiore' JOJO MOYES
‘A wonderful story, beautifully told. I absolutely tore through it!’ KAREN SWAN
New York, 1979.
It is Thanksgiving and Evelina has her close family and beloved friends gathered around, her heart weighted with gratitude for what she has and regret for what she has given up. She has lived in America for over thirty years, but she is still Italian in her soul.
Northern Italy, 1934.
Evelina leads a sheltered life with her parents and siblings in a villa of fading grandeur. When her elder sister Benedetta marries a banker, to suit her father’s wishes rather than her own, Evelina swears that she will never marry out of duty. She knows nothing of romantic love, but when she meets Ezra, son of the local dressmaker, her heart recognises it like an old friend.
Evelina wants these carefree days to last forever. She wants to bask in sunshine, beauty and love and pay no heed to the grey clouds gathering on the horizon. But nothing lasts forever. The shadows of war are darkening over Europe and precious lives are under threat…
Customer Reviews
*Heartbreaking*
This is the story of Evelina and is told through two timelines, the past from 1934 onwards in Italy and from 1979 onwards in New York.
In the past Evelina and her sister Bernadetta as girls were never allowed to go to school so they had a string of tutors for most subjects. She is unyielding that marriage is not for her and that all changes when she meets Ezra. He fast becomes the love of her life but he is Jewish and with war threatening and tragedy striking she can no longer bear the pain of staying in Italy. She asks her parents if she can go to America to stay with relatives. They agree.
In the present fast forward she is happily married with grown up children.
One day whilst she is in Brooklyn her past and present collide in the most unexpected way….
Such touching and tender story, my first book by Santa Montefiore and it won’t be my last