My second historical novel La strana giornata di Alexandre Dumas (Alexander Dumas’ Strange Day) is out in Italian. Here is what the story is about.
A woman of humble origins who spent her whole life pretending to be a noblewoman
A young writer who could make a masterpiece out of every story he heard
A scandal that shocked the French court in the 19th century
Alexander Dumas’ Strange Day
It would have been a day like any other for Alexander Dumas if it hadn’t been for that strange lady who wanted to tell him what the stars predicted for him for the following year, 1844. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Alexander realized, however, that the lady had no intention of talking about horoscopes—she had her own story to tell. And this time, he would be the one to listen.
Everything started in Modigliana in Romagna, where the fortune-teller’s mother, Vincenza, had brought her into the world and named her Maria Stella. Before long, however, Vincenza realized that the little girl’s shock of red hair and sky blue eyes couldn’t have come from her or her husband, Lorenzo, because they were both as black as coal. She wasn’t their daughter.
When she tried to tell people what she suspected, nobody believed her. Vincenza was forced to search in every corner of the house, ask the neighbours and even question the local Count.
The story surrounding the girl’s origins was shocking and Vincenza never discussed it with anybody except the girl who kept it secret for years. Until the day Maria Stella decided to share it with Alexander Dumas, the famous writer—a scandalous story that could have shaken to its very roots the whole of the kingdom of France.
If you can read Italian, you may order the book on IBS (the Italian equivalent of Amazon).
