First published 2017
Anna Howland comes from prominent New England liberals in the 1870s. She marries an Italian prince and settles into Roman society. Her daughter Constanza inherits Anna's beauty and intelligence but rejects her father's Catholic faith. When crisis hits the family, Anna and the prince retreat into their separate cultural traditions. Constanza breaks free from both backgrounds. She creates an unconventional life across England and Europe during World War I and after. Her daughter Flavia grows up brilliant but more impulsive and uncertain than Constanza. Flavia prepares for Oxford entrance exams when a mysterious woman enters their world. This stranger appears at a crucial moment in Flavia's coming of age. Her presence transforms both daughter and mother in ways neither expects.
Genres: family, romance, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: New England, Rome, England, Europe
Period: 1870s, World War I
512 pages · Paperback · NYRB Classics