The Girl from Sicily
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley March 19, 2025
Author Siobhan Daiko
Distributor: Amazon
ISBN: 9781836330936
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Release Date: 19 March 2025
Website: https://www.amazon.com
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/SiobhanDaiko/
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During the Second World War, allied forces often struck a working relationship with somewhat dubious people in order to seek out information on Germany’s bloody march across Europe.
Sicilian mafia were recruited to work with the Americans which had advantages for both sides, but long after the war was over, the Sicilian mafia, building on their wartime advantage, simply grew stronger and stronger.
The Sicilian Girl is based on the true story of a slice in Sicilian history which is discovered by Jess Brown, a woman facing a divorce and whom has, much to her surprise, inherited a peasant farm, a baglio contadina, at Villaurora in central Sicily from her maternal grandmother; a woman she had never met.
Jess makes the decision to go and see the property before she accepts the bequest and also to try to discover something about her family history, in particular her grandmother and her Sicilian family.
In doing so she discovers the heartbreaking story of her grandmother, Lucia, who was born in America but taken, with her twin brother Dino and sister to Villaurora, so her father could look after his ailing father. The outbreak of War sees them forced to remain there, living in grinding poverty, day after endless day.
As Lucia’s story unfolds, Jess begins to move on from her recent distressing experience and is beginning to fall in love, which she is not too sure about, with Piero, the very handsome manager of the family owned Tenuta Sacca di Melita estate, where she is staying.
While it appears that the past is long buried, as Jess looks further into her heritage, she realises that the past is still very much alive in this small area of Sicily and she, somehow, is caught up in it; dangerously.
Set over recent history The Sicilian Girl is a gentle, interesting retelling of a tale that may have been similar for many families during the challenging time of the Second World War.
The Authors Notes are well worth reading as they bring to life the people who lived and then inspired the characters captured within The Sicilian Girl.