Italy 1949
At an orphanage in the poverty-stricken Apennine Mountains, 15-year-old Adelina has only one younger friend - enigmatic, fragile Elisabetta.
When Elisabetta claims to see the Madonna by the river, Adelina has doubts. But after Elisabetta appears to heal Giulio, an injured and traumatised young soldier, crowds flock to witness the mystery of Elisabetta’s miracles.
Adelina can no longer contain her misgivings and seeks out scheming priest, Padre Bosco. As the secrets of the past begin to unravel, Adelina, Elisabetta and Giulio each have to confront who or what to believe.
Soon they face a terrible reckoning which will cause deep ripples in all their lives, reaching across the years to 1990s England.
Broken Madonna by Anna Lucia was published on 16 November 2024 by Fluency Publishing. As part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour today, I am delighted to share an extract from the book with you.
Extract from Broken Madonna by Anna Lucia
Prologue 22 June 1938
River Mollarino, Apennine Mountains, Italy
Forgive me, piccina mia, little one.
Icy water rises up and grabs at the woman’s stretched, empty belly. In the makeshift sling her newborn baby wails, strong fists and feet against her mother’s swollen breasts. The baby opens her pale blue eyes, eyes that belong to a much older soul, and looks up.
The woman presses her pockets, feeling the weight of the pebbles, and she lifts her hand towards her child’s face. Her fingertips hesitate on the baby’s soft skin, the dimple on her right cheek.
She can’t do it.
Her hands plunge back into the water, and she tears at her pockets. The stones are too heavy.
The river pounds downstream, glistening in the moonlight, and swallows the wretched cries from the baby’s tiny body.
As the woman tries to edge backwards, her feet struggle on the slippery riverbed.
‘Almost safe, tesoro,’ she lies, as the baby lets out a terrified cry.
A wave hits the woman’s side.
All at once, they’re sucked down, deep into the water.
No, no, per l’amore di Dio, no.
The sling is unravelling.
The woman kicks with all her strength, but the water pulls her this way and that. Her back strikes a boulder, hard. Suddenly her head breaks the surface of the water. She’s gasping for breath, the sling
clutched tight in her hand, but there is no weight to it.
‘Elisabetta!’
Her scream echoes across the valley. The water is dragging her
back into its cold embrace as she hears a voice.
A young man, crying out, thrashing in the water nearby.
Just before she disappears, she sees her child in his arms.
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Born in England to older Italian immigrant parents, Anna Lucia spent long, hot summers in the Apennine mountain village they had left behind to escape poverty and lack of opportunity. In the local dialect, she listened to the stories of elderly relatives about a time, place and way of life that was far, far removed from 1970s and 1980s suburbia.
Those voices, particularly of strong women who led tough lives, never went away, neither did the echoes of Catholicism.
Anna has been awarded support for her writing from Arts Council England, and also writes short stories, flash fiction and poetry. She is Chair of Trustees of literature development agency, New Writing South.
When not writing, Anna is likely to be found gardening, walking in nature or dancing the Charleston. She has broad interests in spirituality and dream analysis and reads tarot and astrology charts. She lives in Brighton, England.
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