Alessandra Lavagnino Books

Drawn from actual events and characters in the author’s family history, The Librarians of Alexandria is a multi-generational saga spanning the years from the Unification of Italy in 1870 to the end of the Second World War. The librarians are the two Sisters Canterno: the beautiful, impassioned Marta and the withdrawn yet loving Margherita. Their intertwining stories are told by Marta’s daughter, Adriana, who alternately narrates as a young girl and as a grown woman, reminiscing with the aged and infirm Margherita. Set in Alexandria, Rome, and Palermo, the novel is at once circular and epic, a love song to culture – to languages and books, art and music – told in sensuous prose that evokes the sounds of rustling parchment manuscripts, parlor games, songs, and the strife of antiaircraft fire, while conjuring the scents of old libraries, dusty alleys, silkworm farms, and mandarin oranges.

'Heidi' is happy living in the Alps with her grandfather, But when she is taken to the city to be a companion for frail, sickly Clara, she is miserable. Heidi longs to return to the freedom, fresh air and sunshine of the mountains - perhaps they, too, can work their magic on Clara.

New edition of one of the greatest children's classics of American literature. It includes extra material for young readers, together with a section on the book, information about the author and a test-yourself quiz