The Seamstress of Sardinia

An immersive and vividly written historical novel for anyone who loved Ferrante's Neapolitan novels or Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring.

Born into poverty, the seamstress spends her days sewing in the houses of wealthy families. Her work is simple and honest; taught by her nonna, she skilfully prepares nightgowns, undergarments and children's clothes, leaving the finer work of dressmaking to the ateliers in Paris.

Her story weaves in and out of the lives of the people she works for, whose secrets and scandals she is privy to. Some are kind and generous, others blinded by their desire to climb the social ladder. She dreams of freeing herself from the hardscrabble life she has inherited but can't help being pulled back in by the love of the people around her.

Set at the dawn of the twentieth century, The Seamstress of Sardinia follows the girl as she grows into a woman, strives to educate herself and falls in love-always fighting for her independence in a world dominated by men and old social conventions.

About the Author

Bianca Pitzorno was born in Sardinia in 1942. Since 1970 she has published sixty works of fiction and non-fiction, for adults and children. Her books have sold more than two million copies in Italy and been translated into many languages. Pitzorno has also translated into Italian books by J. R. R. Tolkien, Sylvia Plath and Tove Jansson.