Rome in 1938, and as the world teeters on the brink of war, talented pianist Eva Valenti enters the house of widower Dante Cavallera to become his new wife. On the outside, the forces of Fascism are accelerating, but in her new home, Eva fears that something else is at work, whispering in the walls […]
Sinners of Starlight City by Anika Scott
Madame Mystique is a performer extraordinaire, come to work her scandalous magic at the glittering 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. Of African-American and Sicilian heritage, Mystique – aka Rosa Mancuso – and her fellow performers move on the margins. Her ambiguous status serves a hidden vendetta: she awaits the arrival of Paolo Amanta, the dashing pilot […]
Mussolini meets the World’s Fair
While researching the Chicago World’s Fair of 1933 for her new novel, Anika Scott came across an episode of political public manipulation which took her aback – for its present-day resonances as well as its impact at the time. She tells Historia what happened when the Fascists flew to the Fair. Sometimes, a piece of […]
The House of Whispers by Anna Mazzola
Rome, 1938, and as the world teeters on the brink of war, talented pianist Eva Valenti enters the house of widower Dante Cavallera to become his new wife. On the outside, the forces of Fascism are accelerating, but in her new home, Eva fears that something else is at work, whispering in the walls and […]
Mask wearing and crime in Renaissance Venice
The author Deborah Swift thought that setting her third Italian Renaissance novel in Venice during the Carnival would give her villain the ideal opportunity for disguise. But when she began her research she discovered that the association between mask wearing and crime in Venice was anything but straightforward. When I decided to set a novel […]
The Fortune Keeper by Deborah Swift
Venice in the winter of 1643. Mia Caiozzi is determined to discover her destiny by studying the science of astronomy. But her stepmother Giulia forbids her to engage in this dangerous occupation, fearing it will lead her into trouble. The ideas of Galileo are banned by the Inquisition, so Mia must study in secret. Giulia […]
Family memories of Italy in World War Two
Can a novel based on family memories be more that a fictional imitation of life? Cristina Loggia’s debut, Lucifer’s Game, based on true events in Italy during the Second World War, aims to remind us of a past that should never be forgotten. Tripoli, Peloponnese, Greece, September 1943: my paternal grandfather Guido, who was stationed […]
The truth about nuns in 16th-century Florence
For The Darkest Sin, DV Bishop’s latest novel set in 16th-century Florence, he needed to find out about life behind the closed doors of Italian convents. He unveils the truth about Florentine nuns for Historia. Nuns have always fascinated me. One of my older cousins was a nun, and nuns taught many classes at the […]