Host, Chip LoCoco, interviews New Orleans Author, Elisa Speranza, as she discusses her fascinating novel, The Italian Prisoner.
This is a true love story. The story of Italian/Sicilian POWs who are sent to live in camps in Louisiana, such as Jackson Barracks, and the local women they meet and fall in love with during their stay. But the story is so much more. Mrs. Speranza brilliantly brings to the reader a glimpse into what life was like in New Orleans during WWII, with an emphasis on the women who were recruited from the home into the workplace to replace the men off fighting in the war.
And to top it off, for all aspiring writers out there, our host and guest provide some insights into the writing process.
Here is a little more information on the novel, The Italian Prisoner.
1943. New Orleans. Rose Marino lives with her Sicilian immigrant parents and helps in the family grocery store. Her older brother and sister both joined the Army, and Rose prays for their safety as World War II rages overseas. Her parents expect Rose to marry a local boy and start a family. But she secretly dreams of being more like her fiercely independent widowed godmother. Behind her parents’ backs, Rose lands a job at the Higgins shipyard, where she feels free and important for the first time in her life.
When the parish priest organizes a goodwill mission to visit Italian prisoners of war at a nearby military base, Rose and her vivacious best friend, Marie, join the group. There, Rose falls for Sal, a handsome and intelligent POW. Italy has switched sides in the war, so the POWs are allowed out to socialize, giving Rose and Sal a chance to grow closer. When Rose gets a promotion at work, she must make an agonizing choice: follow a traditional path like Marie or keep working after the war and live on her own terms.