A House in Sicily
Autor Daphne Phelps Introducere de Denis Mack Smithen Limba Engleză Hardback – 16 aug 1999
The captivating memoir of a resourceful woman who started life anew in the "most beautiful house in Sicily"
For fifty years, at Casa Cuseni in the small Sicilian town of Taormina, Daphne Phelps has extended her English charm and warm hospitality to seasoned travelers and professional escapists as well as to writers and artists like Tennessee Williams, Bertrand Russell, Henry Faulkner, and Roald Dahl. This memoir tells their story, and hers.
It begins in 1947 when, thirty-four years old and war-weary, a modest Englishwoman arrived in Taormina with little Italian, less money, and a plan to sell the property she had unexpectedly inherited. Instead, she fell in love, not just with the airy quarters of the golden stone house on a hillside but also with a community and its way of life. To save Casa Cuseni from certain demolition, Daphne converted her enchanting inheritance into the wondrous pensione that for nearly half a century she has run with the blessing of every Taorminan from the local silk-shirted godfather, Don Ciccio, to Concetta Genio, her steadfast cook, housekeeper, and friend.
"A loving portrait ... of a vanishing way of life." -- New York Times Book Review
"The often humorous clash of cultures ... [and] the stories of the ordinary Sicilian men and women who populate the pages that make this book, and this place, so special,... so thoroughly alive." -- Chicago Tribune
| Toate formatele și edițiile | Preț | Express |
|---|---|---|
| Paperback (2) | 63.24 lei 22-36 zile | +34.72 lei 5-11 zile |
| Little Brown – 18 mai 2000 | 63.24 lei 22-36 zile | +34.72 lei 5-11 zile |
| Grand Central Publishing – 7 sep 2000 | 122.37 lei 22-36 zile |
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Near Mount Etna in Sicily lies Casa Cuseni, a beautiful house built in golden stone - and the home which Daphne Phelps was astonished to find she had inherited in 1947. At the age of 34, war-weary from working as a psychiatric social worker, with barely any Italian, and precious little money, she plunged into a fascinating Sicilian world. Every imaginable problem had to be overcome, not only financial difficulties but local authorities and a house staff who initially felt no loyalty to the new Signorina but who gradually accepted her as a respected member of their small community. To help make ends meet, for many years she ran Casa Cuseni as a pensione and to her doors came Roald Dahl, Tennessee Williams, Bertrand Russell and Henry Faulkner. But just as important to her life and her story are the Sicilians with whom she shared the love and care of Casa Cuseni: Don Ciccio the local mafia leader, Vincenzio, general manservant who recited while he served the meals, Beppe, a Don Juan who scented his eyebrows and his moustache to attract the local girls; and above all the steadfast cook and housekeeper who lives with Daphne still and to whom this book is dedicated.
Near Mount Etna in Sicily lies Casa Cuseni, a beautiful house built in golden stone - and the home which Daphne Phelps was astonished to find she had inherited in 1947. At the age of 34, war-weary from working as a psychiatric social worker, with barely any Italian, and precious little money, she plunged into a fascinating Sicilian world. Every imaginable problem had to be overcome, not only financial difficulties but local authorities and a house staff who initially felt no loyalty to the new Signorina but who gradually accepted her as a respected member of their small community. To help make ends meet, for many years she ran Casa Cuseni as a pensione and to her doors came Roald Dahl, Tennessee Williams, Bertrand Russell and Henry Faulkner. But just as important to her life and her story are the Sicilians with whom she shared the love and care of Casa Cuseni: Don Ciccio the local mafia leader, Vincenzio, general manservant who recited while he served the meals, Beppe, a Don Juan who scented his eyebrows and his moustache to attract the local girls; and above all the steadfast cook and housekeeper who lives with Daphne still and to whom this book is dedicated.
Recenzii
Shrewd and sometimes wicked ... fascinating
Written with a masterful sense of narrative timing ... this is one of those books which doesn't end - you just have a sense of a life going on and on
A book as warm as the land it celebrates.
Written with a masterful sense of narrative timing ... this is one of those books which doesn't end - you just have a sense of a life going on and on
A book as warm as the land it celebrates.
Notă biografică
Diane Phelps's Sicilian house and garden have been featured in The World of Interiors and numerous other publications. A House in Sicily is her first book.
Denis Mack Smith is the author of Modern Italy: A Political History and Mussolini: A Biography.
Denis Mack Smith is the author of Modern Italy: A Political History and Mussolini: A Biography.