Paradiso: A Novel
()
About this ebook
1879. Veneto, Italy. An unscrupulous French nobleman, the Marquis de Rays, is promoting a scheme to colonise New Guinea. He has numerous French investors but needs a workforce. He guarantees land, housing and the promise of untold wealth in his utopian colony of La Nouvelle France.
Along with forty other Italian families Lorenzo Perin, his wife Caterina and their two children join the expedition. The Italian Government refuses to issue travel papers and the French Government refuses to allow the expedition to embark from any French port. As a result, three hundred Italian peasants undertake an event-filled journey to Barcelona.
For Domenico, aged eight, this is the adventure of a lifetime. He is the first in his family to attend school; he has a hunger for knowledge and is entranced by stories of the new world.
His older sister, Marietta, is not so convinced. She is bound to her mother and a life of duty. Despite these limitations she secretly dreams of a life beyond the confines of family.
The one-hundred-day sea voyage to the New World is both exotic and tragic. Illness and death stalk them. Marietta finds herself taking on unfamiliar responsibilities including caring for her sick mother who carries a secret known only to her close companion Maria Tomé.
On arrival at La Nouvelle France, the Italians find none of the fertile lands promised by the Marquis. They are confronted by impenetrable jungle, incessant rain and the ever-present threat of annihilation. Their leaders abandon the fledgling colony and sail to Sydney promising to return with fresh supplies.
1881. Two months later, dwindling supplies force the expeditioners to take control of their own destiny and they set sail for Sydney only to be diverted to the French penal colony of New Caledonia. From Noumea, the survivors petition the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Henry Parkes, for permission to settle in Australia. He agrees. In Sydney they express the wish to fulfil their dream of establishing a utopian Italian commune but Parkes has other
ideas. Lorenzo Perin and Maria Tomé, who have both lost their spouses in tragic circumstances, are faced with a decision which will impact their family for generations.
A novel based on the true story of endurance, resilience and survival, which has surprising parallels with contemporary events in Australian history.
Related to Paradiso
Related ebooks
The Flight of the Last Stuart King Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFather William Doyle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMizrahi’s Prison Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Jesuit Cardinal, Robert Bellarmine, 1542-1621 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rhythm of Eternity: The German Youth Movement and the Experience of the Past, 1900-1933 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Life of John Milton: A Critical Biography Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cell of Self-Knowledge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReligious Women in Early Carolingian Francia: A Study of Manuscript Transmission and Monastic Culture Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Sanctity of Louis IX: Early Lives of Saint Louis by Geoffrey of Beaulieu and William of Chartres Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Cry of Stone: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Under the Shadow of Etna: Sicilian Stories from the Italian of Giovanni Verga Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Jesuit Cardinal, Robert Bellarmine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHistory of Holland Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Callista: (A Tale of the Third Century) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPaul Hymans: Belgium Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMagdalen College School Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsByron - The Works - Poetry V Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Medieval Culture of Disputation: Pedagogy, Practice, and Performance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDirecting the Tunnellers' War: The Tunnelling Memoirs of Captain H Dixon MC RE Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChurch and World: Eusebius's, Augustine's, and Yoder's Interpretations of the Constantinian Shift Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lion of Munster: The Bishop Who Roared Against the Nazis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fathers Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5In Search Of Kings Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVanilla Beans And Brodo: Real Life In The Hills Of Tuscany Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Growing up Italian Australian Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings"...until you are safe" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStone of Destiny Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Historical Fiction For You
Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5East of Eden Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Rules of Magic: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hallowe'en Party: Inspiration for the 20th Century Studios Major Motion Picture A Haunting in Venice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lady Tan's Circle of Women: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Demon Copperhead: A Pulitzer Prize Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House of Eve Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Invisible Hour: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Yellow Wife: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This Tender Land: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rebecca Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Canterbury Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House Is on Fire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Red Tent - 20th Anniversary Edition: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Island of Sea Women: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Kitchen House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Magic Lessons: The Prequel to Practical Magic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sisters Brothers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Journals of Sacajewea: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Euphoria Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tinkers: 10th Anniversary Edition Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Book of Magic: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5That Bonesetter Woman: the new feelgood novel from the author of The Smallest Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Quiet American Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Pale Blue Eye: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Girls in the Stilt House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Clockmaker's Daughter: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Paradiso
0 ratings0 reviews