The seamstress of Sardinia / Bianca Pitzorno ; translated from the Italian by Brigid Maher.

First published in Italy as Il sogno della macchina da cucire, 2018.

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.

Translated from the Italian.