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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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