The city of Sicily admires them, honors them and, above all, fears them. Ignazio was destined to rule Casa Florio since birth, a fearless drive that pulses through his veins, pushing him to look beyond Sicily towards Rome, Europe and its courts, the naval domination of the Mediterranean, and eventually the purchase of the entire Archipelago of the Egadi to build his dazzling empire. But his heart is black as ice.

To seize Casa Florio, he abandoned the love of his life—an act of treachery which still casts a dark shadow. Barely twenty, his son Ignazziddu stands to inherit all that his father has built. Yet he is nothing like Ignazio.

A nervous young man, he does not want to be shackled to his infamous name, to sacrifice himself for the family. Despite his fears, he embraces Ignazio’s legacy, and must face a world that changes too quickly, agitated by new, violent, and uncontrollable forces. Ignazziddu eventually realizes that it’s not enough to have Florio blood to become the imposing force his grandfather and father were.

What is it they had that he lacks?Beside father and son are two extraordinary women: Giovanna, Ignazio’s wife, hard and fragile as crystal, full of passion but hungry for love, and Franca, the wife of Ignazziddu, the most beautiful woman in Europe, whose golden existence is threatened by the blows of a cruel fate. It is these women who unforgettably animate The Triumph of the Lions. Bringing the Belle Epoque into stunning relief, Auci dives deeper into the exhilarating and terrible, glorious and tragic history of a family that, for decades, sat high above Italian society, and made the heart of an island and city beat.

But now fate has taken a turn. As social and economic pressures erode the stability of a young Italy, the Florios—despite their wealth and power—must watch as their iron grip over the South begins to weaken. Following in the steps of the father he idolized, Ignazzidu, now Don Ignazio, finds himself commanding the Florio family’s interests and enterprises.

Negligent, impetuous, and headstrong, he is everything his industrious father was not. But while he struggles to live up to the family name, his charming and loyal wife Franca rises to the occasion. A gracious and formidable host, Franca’s hospitality becomes unmatched across Europe, informally crowned the “Queen of Palermo” as she holds court with an esteemed coterie of luminaries from the womanizing Puccini to the scandalous Boldini.

Yet as the tides of fortune change– economic hardships, war, and human loss- their relationship will be put to the test and Franca will find that even a love as devoted as hers may falter. But the biggest threat to their survival is the death of an heir. In losing the flesh of his flesh, Ignazio—who succeeded his father without the strength or conviction to do so—will ultimately oversee the collapse of an empire built by his family’s ambition, cunning, and sweat.

What kind of future will the Florios have now? Will anything remain of their greatness?

Infamous warrior, queen of the British Iceni tribe and mastermind of one of history’s greatest revolts. Her defeat spelled ruin for her people, yet still her name is enough to strike fear into Roman hearts.

But what of the woman who grew up in her shadow?

The woman who has her mother’s looks and cunning but a spirit all of her own?

The woman whose desperate bid for survival will take her from Britain’s sacred marshlands to the glittering facades of Nero’s Roman Empire…

Born to a legend. Forced to fight.

Determined to succeed.

Meet Solina.

Boudicca’s Daughter.

In defiance of their disapproval, the vicar’s unmarried sister-in-law Florence finds herself inexplicably drawn to Kit, and the friendship that grows between them becomes a light in the dark for her.But the Face calls things to it, and now Florence and Kit are in its path…

But one day, Amerigo learns that a train will take him away from the rubble-strewn streets of the city to spend the winter with a family in the north, where he will be safe and have warm clothes and food to eat. Together with thousands of other southern children, Amerigo will cross the entire peninsula to a new life. Through his curious, innocent eyes, we see a nation rising from the ashes of war, reborn. As he comes to enjoy his new surroundings and the possibilities for a better future, Amerigo will make the heartbreaking choice to leave his mother and become a member of his adoptive family.

Amerigo’s journey is a moving story of memory, indelible bonds, artistry, and self-exploration, and a soaring examination of what family can truly mean. Ultimately Amerigo comes to understand that sometimes we must give up everything, even a mother’s love, to find our destiny.

A coach stops in the main square of Lizzanello, a tight-knit village where everyone knows each other. A couple gets off: The man, Carlo, a child of the South, is happy to be back home after a long time away; the woman, Anna his wife, is a stranger from the North. Carlo’s brother is there to meet them, and he and everyone else can’t help but notice that Anna is as beautiful as a Greek statue.

But Anna is not like the other wives. She doesn’t gossip or attend church. She reads books no one else has ever heard of.

She even wears pants, just like a man, and thinks a woman should have rights just like a man. There aren’t many options for a woman with Anna’s sensibilities, so when she learns that the post office is hiring, she leaps at the opportunity. A female letter carrier? It is unthinkable.

But Anna soon becomes the invisible thread connecting the town as she delivers letters between clandestine lovers, families waiting to hear news of loved ones away at war, even helping those who can’t read. But for some in Lizzanello, letters come too little and too late. The seamstress, who was Carlo’s first love, can’t help but look at Anna as having taken her rightful place.

Carlo’s niece has put herself in a loveless marriage after an impetuous act of jealousy. And Carlo and his brother find themselves trying to cover up a recently unearthed surprise that could shatter all of their lives.

Salento, Italia, giugno 1934.

Una carrozza si ferma nella piazza principale di Lizzanello, un paese molto unito dove tutti si conoscono. Scende una coppia: l’uomo, Carlo, figlio del Sud, è felice di essere tornato a casa dopo tanto tempo; la donna, Anna, sua moglie, è una straniera del Nord. Il fratello di Carlo è lì ad accoglierli, e lui e tutti gli altri non possono fare a meno di notare che Anna è bella come una statua greca.

Ma Anna non è come le altre mogli. Non spettegola né va in chiesa. Legge libri di cui nessuno ha mai sentito parlare.

Indossa persino i pantaloni, proprio come un uomo, e pensa che una donna debba avere gli stessi diritti di un uomo. Non ci sono molte opzioni per una donna con la sensibilità di Anna, quindi quando scopre che l’ufficio postale sta assumendo, coglie al volo l’opportunità. Una postina? È impensabile.

Ma Anna diventa presto il filo invisibile che collega la città, consegnando lettere tra amanti clandestini, famiglie in attesa di notizie dei propri cari in guerra, e persino aiutando chi non sa leggere. Ma per alcuni a Lizzanello, le lettere arrivano troppo poche e troppo tardi. La sarta, che è stata il primo amore di Carlo, non può fare a meno di considerare Anna come se avesse preso il suo posto legittimo.

La nipote di Carlo si è messa in un matrimonio senza amore dopo un impetuoso atto di gelosia. E Carlo e suo fratello si ritrovano a cercare di nascondere una sorpresa appena scoperta che potrebbe sconvolgere tutte le loro vite.

Teddy Huntley Carlyle is fresh off a plane from Texas with a new husband in tow and a new life on the horizon. After some wayward years of bad men and bad decisions, she’s promised herself a fresh start. In Rome, Teddy will be good.

She will wear the right clothes and the perfect lipstick and she will charm her husband’s colleagues at the Embassy. And Teddy is good, until the Fourth of July, when her new life explodes with the fireworks above her head. She is caught on camera in the arms of the American ambassador just moments after spotting a man from the darkest corner of her past across the room.

There it is: the evidence of her depravity on film. Trying to recover the photographs and keep her reputation intact, Teddy descends into the dark underbelly of the city… but is she in over her head?

Franschhoek, Southern Africa, 1862. Nearly six generations later, Isabelle Joubert Lepard follows in her footsteps, determined to investigate the lives of her ancestors – and to honour their memory – only to discover that the evils of the past, though hidden, are far from buried. And that her life, too, is under threat…

Bella and Edward take the boy on a terrifying train journey out of Italy – one they have no reason to believe any of them will survive…