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.
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