Portrait of a Woman

Historically founded on the seventeenth century Stradivari family PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN is a novel about Beatrice Stradivari a young concert guitarist and the two men who vie for her love; of an older Beatrice who during World War II rescues Italian Jews by crossing the Swiss border; finally of an aging Beatrice who as a Benedictine nun Mother Ambrose catches the interest of a novelist who falls in love with her in his imagination. In his effort to translate his devotion into a novel he searches out Mother Ambrose´s secret on the shores of Como Istanbul Dubrovnik and Rome.. This single novel involves three interlocking stories woven into a seamless garment: a double romance a thriller based on a priceless formula for varnish; a memoir of love lost and repossessed. Each story takes its turn illuminating the others and ultimately Mystery itself. PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN is a classic for the new millennium.