Titles in our catalogue

Salento, June 1934. A coach stops in the main square of Lizzanello, a village with only a few souls. A couple get off: the man, Carlo, a child of the South, is happy to be back home; the woman, Anna – his wife – is from the North. She is as beautiful as a Greek statue, but sad and worried: what kind of life awaits her in this unfamiliar land?

In the eyes of the villagers, Anna never ceases to be “the foreigner” who doesn’t attend church, doesn’t wander around the village and doesn’t gossip. Proud and prickly, Anna never yields to the customs of Southern women: not only does she take the postal services public exam, but actually passes it and becomes the first postwoman in the village, or rather the first “letter carrier”, as she wants to be called.

For over twenty years, Anna is the invisible thread that brings the village residents and their stories together. First on foot, then by bicycle, proud in her navy blue cap and uniform, Anna delivers letters from the young men at the front, postcards from emigrants and missives from secret lovers. Without meaning to – and above all without the villagers wanting it – the letter carrier changes many things in Lizzanello.

River Adda, 1877. Cristoforo Crespi sees a small triangle of land bounded by the river as the future and the chance his family needs to make an indelible mark upon this world. Thus, the son of a simple tengitt, a dyer, builds an avant-garde cotton mill and a village to house its workers. Italy has never seen such a thing: the village has its own church, school, and comfy homes with gardens. Cristoforo bets everything he has on this dream. His money, his reputation, and even his relationship with his brother Benigno, who has succumbed to the temptations of the high life in Milan and by the prestige of owning a newspaper. For Cristoforo, what matters most is to create something concrete and to change the life of his workers for the better.

Young Emilia’s life changes the day she moves into the new village. The daughter of one of Crespi’s most loyal workers and a woman tormented by dark premonitions, Emilia witnesses, from this side of the river, the creation of a self-sustaining world. She experiences the small and large events of Italian history: the 1989 bread riots, the First World War, the labor insurrections. But as fate would have it, her path soon crosses that of Silvio Crespi, heir to the company and to his father’s vision. Despite the socio-economic chasm that separates them, they develop a special relationship that stands the test of life and time.

Come vento cucito alla terra is the story of the first British women surgeons, a handful of pioneers, often militant suffragettes, forced to operate only in the London slums, in charitable establishments for women and children because they were not allowed to practise on men or to pursue a career. At the start of the First World War, in order to create a space for themselves in the male world and build up medical experience, they decided to leave for the battle fields of the Western Front and set up a hospital managed entirely by them in France. But this is also the story of the soldiers who were wounded and left invalids, who entered that female world thinking they were being sent there because there was no more hope for them, but who found there an opportunity for healing and redemption – partly through embroidery.

Come vento cucito alla terra is the story of the meeting between this apparently opposite worlds through two different points of view: that of Caterina – a surgeon, single mother of Italian origin – and that of Alexander, a British soldier – first a brave captain, then a patient made prisoner of his own body, but still a leader of men he must guide through a process of rebirth. And so he does, partly by picking up a sewing needle.

Full English translation available

From the 1800s to the 1930s, the Florios are the «uncrowned kings of Sicily»: restless and ambitious, single-minded and determined to be richer and more powerful than anybody else. They start as grindingly poor spice sellers, but they quickly move on to tuna fishing, to foundries and finally to the Marsala wine that conquers the world. Shrewd businessmen and entrepreneurs, the Florio men are also stubborn, arrogant, philanderers and slaves to passions and they often find themselves forced to choose between ambition and sacrifice. Strong and resolute, the Florio women may be caring mothers, alluring mistresses or wounded wives, but they always strive to find their place in the world. From Vincenzo, the founder of the Florio empire, to Ignazio, his grandson, who squanders the family fortune on legendary parties; from Giovanna, iron-willed but love-starved, to the legendary Donna Franca, idolized by kings and poets, the author draws on history with both hands, dispels the mists of time and restores the Florios’ extraordinary, contradictory and fascinating vitality.

Emanuele’s father is a Jungian psychologist, a magician capable of healing wounded souls. As a child, Emanuele soon learns that in order to survive in his father’s orbit it’s best for him to be a peripheral figure. After all, his mother keeps saying “You know what he’s like” whenever she talks about his father. But Emanuele doesn’t really know and, after his father dies, very little is left of him except an apartment no one wants, where the invisible mists of the lives and sorrows he had healed, oiled and straightened still linger.

So Emanuele decides to buy this flat and to live permanently in that atmosphere still hovering after his father’s life was cut short, because – first as a son, then as a writer – he wants to reconstruct the identity of a man who never left anything of himself in writing.

Elia Legasov was born in a town surrounded by whiteness and has never left.

His job is to shovel snow and clear streets along which nobody walks until the snow reveals something from its depths. Something connected to Elia’s family and all that was supposed to remain buried. From that moment on, Elia’s mind becomes crowded with memories he had suppressed: memories of a father who died many years ago and a mother who left for ever.

This makes Elia believe what people say about his family: that the snow does not protect them but, on the contrary, puts them to the test to see if they are capable of forgetting, because everybody forgets. But the Legasovs remember, always.

It is now Elia’s turn to remember, whatever the cost. Because grief creates the winter, only every winter is different from the one before and the one before that.

It is 20 July 2001 and Rome stretches under the sweltering cloak of a motionless summer. Enzo, Giacomo and Filippo are childhood friends united by an unsteady attempt at middle-class stability and their friend Biba. They are driving to the sea to spend an evening like so many others when the radio broadcasts the events of the G8 Summit in Genoa. That is precisely where Biba is: she has gone there to see what would happen and finds herself witnessing the bloody battle that involves many of her peers, mainly peaceful anti-globalisation protesters. Overwhelmed by the violence, Biba feels only fear and alienation and decides not to stay a moment longer and to return to her three friends. The following morning, they all get together possibly for the last time: Biba tells them what she saw… Nothing will ever be the same again, but nothing will truly change.

Linda remembers Leonardo, her first love, her high-school sweatheart, very well. With him she felt like a princess and was unaware of their class differences. He had a chauffeur, whereas her father had bought their car on credit.

Only her life did not turn out like a fairy tale, she had a rude awakening and had to face a deeply hurtful stark reality. So, all she could do was pretend she had never experienced this love and that Leonardo had never existed.

However, despite all the passing years, Linda and Leonardo meet again between Verona and Paris. They are no longer the same people they were at high school… or are they?

Durante is the surly owner of a café in a small district that comes alive only in the summer. Ella is the foreigner who, although accepted with suspicion, gives him an unexpected present: a notebook that is a collection of suggestions for finding happiness again through small acts and rediscovering the joys of everyday life – acts some may consider insignificant, but which Ella knows to have healing powers. Certainly, Durante seems to need to create new habits so he can see in a new light the old ones he takes for granted. Consequently, Ella gently guides him through his everyday adventures: making jam with fresh apricots, organising a brunch and watching shooting stars together on the night of San Lorenzo.

Perhaps Durante, too, will help Ella get over her painful past…

Helen, the daughter of Zeus and Leda, born from a swan’s egg, is the most beautiful woman in the world, the most desired in all Greece. All the heroes of the peninsula – from Ulysses to Ajax – appear before her father to ask for her hand in marriage. But she is also the epitomy of treachery: she left her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta, and ran away with Paris, a foreigner, to live in Troy. The Trojan war, much written about in literature, broke out because of her.

“There are many rumours about me. All kinds of contradictory things are said about me: some people think I am the worst among women, the cause of multiple damage, while others claim I am pure and innocent, splendid prey for men and a useful pawn in the hands of the gods. And then there are those who imply that it’s all wrong and that I am actually a goddess. What should you believe? What’s the truth? That’s why I’ve come from eternity to tell you about myself, firsthand.”

Within the walls of Grave, the orphanage in which Nica has grown up, stories and legends have always been told by candlelight. The most famous one is about the tear maker, a mysterious craftsman with eyes as clear as glass, guilty of having manufactured all the fears and anxieties that dwell in people’s hearts.

But, at the age of seventeen, the moment has come for Nica to leave all these dark childhood stories behind. Her greatest dream is about to come true. Mr and Mrs Milligan have begun the adoption procedures and are ready to give her the family she’s always wanted. However, Nica is not alone in the new house. Rigel, a restless, mysterious orphan, is also taken out of Grave, and he’s the last person Nica would wish for an adoptive brother. Rigel is intelligent, astute, plays the piano like a bewitching demon and is mesmerisingly handsome, but his angelic appearance conceals a dark temperament. Even though Nica and Rigel share a past filled with grief and deprivation, living together seems impossible; especially when the legend comes back to haunt their lives and the maker of tears suddenly grows increasingly real and draws nearer. Even so, gentle and brave, Nica is ready to do anything in order to protect her dream, because only by facing the nightmares that torment her will she finally be able to soar freely like the butterfly after which she was named.

Ivy grew up among frozen lakes and uncontaminated forests, surrounded by the snow she loves. This is why, after she is orphaned and forced to move to California, all she can think of is what she’s left behind. Canada and its land are a deep loss. Its mountains contain the past to which the girl is so attached, and that, unbeknown to her, makes her the carrier of a dangerous secret.

The only family she has left is that of John, her kind godfather. It’s not long before she realises that John’s son, Mason, is no longer the toothless little boy whose picture she saw as a child. He is now grown up, with the sharp eyes of a wild animal and a face like a lair of shadows. And the first time he smiles at her, menacing, curving his perfect lips, Ivy realises that living with him will be harder than she expected. Indeed, Mason doesn’t want her there and does nothing to conceal it.

As Ivy tries to keep her head above the violent waves of her new life by the ocean, Canada and its mysteries never cease to torment her while she does everything it takes to enable her heart, white as snow, to blossom once more, overcoming the winter cold.

Quirky and lavish, the Milagro Club is a place that can bewitch anyone who walks into it, including Mireya. Obstinate like someone with nothing to lose, the young woman gets herself hired as a bartender. The Milagro, however, is more than an exclusive nightclub. Behind its closed doors, beyond the sequins and stage lights, destinies and secrets are intertwined. The darkest ones are all gathered in the rugged, charming face of Andras, the head of security. Between Mireya and Andras, it’s hatred at first sight. Both carry on their skins the same marks, the brand of those who have had to learn to fight in order to survive. And yet they keep bumping into each other, as though attracted by a mysterious force they neither know nor are able to oppose, bound by a golden thread that is stronger than destiny.

Vanessa is a second-year college student who has an innate love of books and the rain, and has an enduring bond with her best friends. After her parents get divorced, she meets Travis, a young man she hopes will help her recover her long-lost peace of mind. For two years it seems that nothing can dent their tempestuous love affair – at least not until Vanessa comes across the conceited arrogance of Thomas: a self-confident, hostile young man who is both a victim and an aggressor with a tormented past and a dreadful secret that has doomed him to unhappiness. Thomas and Vanessa’s lives, so different and yet so alike, interlock, leading to a both passionate and painful relationship made up of yearning, rows, secrets and obstacles. And when everything seems to take a turn for the better, an unexpected presence upsets everything.

Loving each other has never been easy for Thomas and Vanessa. Their relationship is fuelled by passionate nights and fierce jealousy, romantic sparks and seemingly insuperable misunderstandings. After nearly losing each other, however, things appear to be going in the right direction. For the first time, Thomas confides in Vanessa the traumas in his past that have turned him into a broken soul incapable of bonding with anyone. Still, not even this rekindled closeness seems sufficient, since his gripping distress is too deep. While Thomas is trapped in a spiral of self-destruction, Vanessa and Logan start seeing each other again. The young man has never accepted the end of their relationship and is ready to provide the support she deserves. Can there be a happy ending for two hearts on a collision course?

When, after a time apart, Vanessa returns to Corvallis, she harbours a deep resentment towards the man who broke her heart. Meanwhile, Thomas has straightened himself out, but the anger they both feel triggers another war made up of clashes and provocations. The attraction that binds them still smoulders like fire under the ashes and needs only a spark to flare up again. However, Logan, a by now permanent presence at Vanessa’s side, stands between them. He is a good man, ready to take care of her and is everything Thomas cannot be. Or is he? Perhaps Thomas is right in always warning her against him. They try to piece their relationship back together bit by bit, facing many challenges until Vanessa and Thomas are certain that their love is going to last and that, despite their difficulties and flaws, they cannot live without each other.

Sia Carillo is an intrusive, anticonformist young woman, and the bitter enemy of Derek Hill, a frosty prince with a dark secret that makes him wary and distant. The hatred between them has no limits, but conceals infinite attraction. Olivia Leed has lost her voice because of a ghost that prevents her from breathing, but Edgar Chen reminds her of the beauty in small things. Untidy, self-deprecating and far too clumsy, Edgar lives between panic attacks and bursts of anger that express remorse and feelings of guilt.

What these four young people have in common is a traumatic past that has left deep marks on their psyche. Brought together by an unorthodox woman doctor, they must cooperate in order to build a future in the world of journalism, working for a prestigious media company. Through a series of increasingly demanding challenges, their friendship is instrumental in the processing of their pain.

The teenager Trinity leads a monotonous life in Seafolk. Nothing has been the same since her father’s death. Her father, who would read her stories under their dream catcher and then wish her goodnight, telling her over and over again to dream big. Consequently, she is upset when her mother decides to host in their home – and in particular in her father’s study – Acher Morris, the son of her best friend with the falsely polite smile. Trinity wishes he would get out of her life and home, but he responds to her sharp words and anger only with irritating silence. He is the only person not to be afraid of the wall she has erected between herself and the rest of the world, to understand her grief and always know where to find her. They discover that they complement each other and, although they are alone, they are two against the world.

Lily-Rose June was born and raised amid the damp, grey walls of Red Oak Manor. She spends her days studying, often insulted by the rich kids who enjoy humiliating her, and the chores she must carry out under the careful supervision of Miss Price, the orphanage head teacher. And yet on one bleak Sunday like so many others, her routine is turned upside down by the return of the blue-eyed boy who made her heart beat for the first time: Jace Lowell Campbell, who must do his penance in Red Oak Manor. It is a shame that his true punishment is to keep away from June, who has always been his weak spot. Dropping his guard now would be fatal, because there is a fact Jace must take once more into account: June cannot leave Red Oak Manor. And he cannot stay there…

Dylan does not know when he was born. As a baby, he was abandoned outside the gate of the orphanage where he grew up. The only colour he sees is the grey of the Red Oak Manor walls, but there was a time when a young girl managed to make him happy. Just one look and he was bound to her for ever. Even though he knew that it was love, he gave the worst of himself with anger and jealousy and ended up letting her go for ever. Some feelings, however, are destined never to fade. Arya Torres, now a successful actress is well aware of Dylan’s torment. He cannot bear to see her in the magazines and those damned films, and she can’t stand not hearing from him. The day they bump into each other at a Los Angeles party, nothing seems to have changed. Arya still feels the need to be Dylan’s butterfly and he longs to catch her in his web…