Lily Prior

Since childhood, Rosa Fiore -- daughter of a sultry Sicilian matriarch and her hapless husband -- found solace in her family's kitchen. La Cucina, the heart of the family's lush estate, was a place where generations of Fiore women prepared sumptuous feasts and where the drama of extended family life was played out around the age-old table. When Rosa was a teenager, her own cooking became the stuff of legend in this small community that takes pride in the bounty of its landscape and the eccentricity of its inhabitants. Rosa's infatuation with culinary arts was rivaled only by her passion for a young man, Bartolomeo, who, unfortunately, belonged to another. After their love affair ended in tragedy, Rosa retreated first into her kitchen and then into solitude, as a librarian in Palermo. There she stayed for decades, growing corpulent on her succulent dishes, resigned to a loveless life. Then, one day, she meets the mysterious chef, known only is I'Inglese, whose research on the heritage of Sicilian cuisine leads him to Rosa's library, and into her heart. They share one sublime summer of discovery, during which I'lnglese awakens the power of Rosa's sensuality, and together they reach new heights of culinary passion. When I'Inglese suddenly vanishes, Rosa returns home to the farm to grieve for the loss of her second love. In the comfort of familiar surroundings, among her, growing family, she discovers the truth about her loved ones and finds her life transformed once more by the magic of her cherished Cucina. Exuberant and touching, La Cucina is a magical evocation of lifes mysterious seasons and the treasures found in each one. It celebrates family, food, passion, and the eternal rapture of romance.

A Novel of Rapture

La Cucina

Ramona Drottoveo, an albino with unusual looks, is a chambermaid at a lush Italian country estate. Distinguished by an intoxicating scent she exudes, Ramona is despised by women and worshipped by men whose inexhaustible lust for Ramona she satisfies, eagerly and repeatedly. Ramona's life changes when she marries a sweet beekeeper who dies after discovering his bride with a new lover on their wedding day. The superstitious villagers go on to blame Ramona and her lover when the beekeeper's body disappears and the crops fail, and they exile the couple from the estate to the neighboring city of Naples. There, we follow Ramona through her tragicomic misadventures where her life is transformed once again by the birth of her unwanted daughter, Blandina, who 'steals' Ramona's scent, depriving her mother of her only asset. No longer able to seduce men into blind submission, Ramona returns humbly to the estate to an unexpected welcome - and revenge.

A Novel of Temptation

Nectar

Ramona Drottoveo, an albino, is a chambermaid at a lush Italian estate. Distinguished by the intoxicating scent she exudes, Ramona is despised by all women and adored by all men, whose inexhaustible lust she eagerly satisfies. Life changes when her husband dies after discovering his bride with another man on their wedding night. Blamed for his death, Ramona and her lover are exiled to the neighboring city of Naples. There, Ramona's life is transformed once again by the birth of a daughter, Blandina, who "steals" her mother's scent. No longer able to seduce men into blind submission, Ramona humbly returns to the estate to an unexpected welcome -- and revenge. A hilarious and naughty celebration of the senses and the strange places they can lead us, Nectar explores the mystery of sexual attraction and the frivolous nature of divine justice.

When her ventriloquist husband and their pet parrot go missing under mysterious circumstances, a secretly delighted Freda Lippi remembers events from her tragic past that explain why she married in the first place, from a horrific accident in her teen years to her life-changing cruise around the Mediterranean. 25,000 first printing.

A Roman Riddle

Cabaret

It is the story of Sylvia Bollusk, a woman both ordinary and ex-traordinary, and her struggle for survival. She is a failed actress, trying to make ends meet in post-war austerity Britain by whatever means she can. Most of her family and her four previous husbands have been annihilated in tragic circumstances. Then she meets Dickie, the jaunty prosthetic limb salesman, who she knows, in her heart, is the one. But the happy ending she longs for is jeopardized when she succumbs to the terrible hereditary condition Latent Twin Syndrome, and Anthea develops. The climax is a breathless swirl played out to the giddy music of a hurdy-gurdy. Sibling rivalry at its most extreme, only one of the sisters will survive the surgery to separate them. Which one will it be?

The First Time I Heard Anthea Speak

Carlos Sousa de Almeida

Néctar

Flo Rivers is a "can do" girl. In this story, Flo meets Brian, a giant with a problem. In her usual inventive fashion Flo helps Brian, and in the process, avoids having to eat her Ma's yucky organic vegetables.

Lily Prior

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