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?

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…

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…

Determined to secure a prosperous future, Franco will do anything to prove his loyalty to the Baron. But when Baron Zito asks him to arrange the kidnapping of a little boy, Franco crosses the point of no return, setting in motion the making of the world’s first Mafia family. Gaetano Catalano is an idealistic young lawyer, whose devotion for justice is a calling.

Gaetano is a member of the Beati Paoli, a real-life secret society of aristocrats who investigate crime. Gaetano and the Beati Paoli set out to find the boy, but for Gaetano, the mission turns to obsession. He risks everything to right the wrong.

The kidnapped boy, Dante, grows up without even knowing his last name. He doubts his own sanity until he meets Lucia, a girl with a tragic past of her own. They fall in love, and set out to find his true identity.

But Lucy is lured away from the conventions of upper-middle-class Edwardian society by her yearnings for the clerk she left behind. A Room with a View satirizes the English notion of respectability-and remains Forster’s most beloved novel and a twentieth-century classic.

But when Vincenzo is spurned by his aristocratic lover, he vows to avenge his honor by becoming the wealthiest man in Italy. Sacrificing love and family, he strives to buy what cannot be his by birth. Not to be outdone by the men, the Florio women unapologetically demand their place outside the restraints of caring mothers, alluring lovers, or wounded wives.

Giulia, though only a mistress, is fiercely intelligent and runs the empire from the shadows. Angelina, born a bastard, charts her own future against the wishes of her father. In this epic yet intimate tale of power, passion, and revenge, the rise and fall of a family taps into the universal desire to become more than who we are born as.

1928, ParisA boy is found, moments from death, and taken in by a kindly family. Gentle, precocious, talented, he flourishes in his new home, and the family show him a life he hadn’t dreamed possible.
But he refuses to speak a word about who he really is. As he grows into a young man, falling in love and taking classes at the prestigious Conservatoire de Paris, he can almost forget the terrors of his past, or the promise he has vowed to keep. But across Europe an evil is rising, and no-one’s safety is certain.
In his heart, he knows the time will come where he must flee once more.

2008, the Aegean. The seven sisters are gathered together for the first time, on board the Titan to say a final goodbye to the enigmatic father they loved so dearly. To the surprise of everyone, it is the missing sister who Pa Salt has chosen to entrust with the clue to their pasts.
But for every truth revealed, another question emerges. The sisters must confront the idea that their adored father was someone they barely knew. And even more shockingly: that these long-buried secrets may still have consequences for them today.

On a journey of self-discovery that will take her to Ireland, America, and then back to Britain, Lady Margaret must follow her internal compass and search for her place, and her own identity, in a changing society. Incorporating research into her heritage and drawing upon her own unique life journey and experiences, the Duchess pens a fictional account of the life of her great-great-aunt, Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott. Rich in historical detail, Her Heart for a Compass offers a compelling look at Victorian England and the fascinating journey of a woman, born into the higher echelons of society, whose only desire is to follow her heart.

With co-writer Marguerite Kaye, an accomplished Mills & Boon historical author, The Duchess has created a breathtaking romantic novel of daring to follow your heart against all odds. Set amongst the drawing rooms of Victoria’s court, and the grand country houses of Scotland and Ireland.