The Italian Prisoner

By: Elisa M. Speranza

Narrated by: Debi Tinsley

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’ back, Rose lands a job at the 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.

Inspired by little-known historical events and set to a swing-era soundtrack, The Italian Prisoner is an engrossing story of wartime love, family secrets, and a young woman’s struggle to chart her own course at an inflection point in American history.

©2021 Elisa M. Speranza (P)2022 Elisa M. Speranza

Interesting period piece

I liked the plot and the New Orleans setting but was very annoyed by several mispronounced italian words

Loved it!

What a great, clever story. The writing style made me feel like I was in the story. I’m excited to read the next novel by Ms. Speranza.

Lovely story, richly narrated.

This story is full of appreciation for Sicilian-American culture and New Orleans sights and sounds told against a backdrop of American life during WWII. It is a heartwarming and uplifting account of a young woman finding her place in her family and in the world.