Since childhood, Rosa Fiore -- daughter of a sultry Sicilian matriarch and her hapless husband -- found solace in her family's kitchen. La Cucina, the heart of the family's lush estate, was a place where generations of Fiore women prepared sumptuous feasts and where the drama of extended family life was played out around the age-old table.
When Rosa was a teenager, her own cooking became the stuff of legend in this small community that takes pride in the bounty of its landscape and the eccentricity of its inhabitants. Rosa's infatuation with culinary arts was rivaled only by her passion for a young man, Bartolomeo, who, unfortunately, belonged to another. After their love affair ended in tragedy, Rosa retreated first into her kitchen and then into solitude, as a librarian in Palermo. There she stayed for decades, growing corpulent on her succulent dishes, resigned to a loveless life.
Then, one day, she meets the mysterious chef, known only is I'Inglese, whose research on the heritage of Sicilian cuisine leads him to Rosa's library, and into her heart. They share one sublime summer of discovery, during which I'lnglese awakens the power of Rosa's sensuality, and together they reach new heights of culinary passion. When I'Inglese suddenly vanishes, Rosa returns home to the farm to grieve for the loss of her second love. In the comfort of familiar surroundings, among her, growing family, she discovers the truth about her loved ones and finds her life transformed once more by the magic of her cherished Cucina.
Exuberant and touching, La Cucina is a magical evocation of lifes mysterious seasons and the treasures found in each one. It celebrates family, food, passion, and the eternal rapture of romance.

La Cucina: A Novel of Rapture

Literature & Fiction

Prior, Lily

Contemporary

Harper

Set in the sultry heat of an Italian summer, Ardor is a delicious romantic comedy about unrequited love, unquenchable lust, and the hilarious consequences of mistaken passions.
When a lonely olive grower, Arcadio Carnabuci, sows his love seeds, he cannot imagine the chaos his magic fruit will bring. While Fernanda Pondrosa, the voluptuous woman of his dreams, evades his spell, Gezabel, a hardworking middle-aged mule, falls head over hooves in love with him. And, as Gezabel discovers, she is not the only one whose stars cross as the olive grower's ardor casts its magic over the region. Suddenly, the butcher and the baker are thinking murder, the village doctor and his nurse are driven to distraction, and a newborn is transformed into an angel. As the villagers alternate between love and war, remarkable phenomena add to the fevered atmosphere, making passions surge higher than the soaring temperatures of summer.
A new novel by the author of La Cucina and Nectar, Ardor is a wildly imaginative fairy tale for adults, full of twists and unexpected delights.

Ardor: A Novel of Enchantment

Ecco

When a lonely olive grower, Arcadio Carnabuci, sows his love seeds, he cannot imagine the chaos his magic fruit will bring. While Fernanda Ponderosa, the voluptuous woman of his dreams, evades his spell, Gezabel, a hardworking middle-aged mule, falls head over hooves in love with him. And, as Gezabel discovers, she is not the only one whose stars cross as the olive grower's ardor casts its magic over the region. Suddenly, the butcher and the baker are thinking murder, the village doctor and his nurse are driven to distraction, and a newborn is transformed into an angel. As the villagers alternate between love and war, remarkable phenomena add to the fevered atmosphere, making passions surge higher than the soaring temperatures of summer. A wildly imaginative fairy tale for adults, Ardor celebrates the lovely landscape of Italy and the eccentricity of its inhabitants in a narrative full of twists and unexpected delights.This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

Freda Lippi comes home one afternoon to find her apartment overrun by the police and her ventriloquist husband, Alberto, his dummy, and her parrot, Pierino, gone without trace.
Though distraught about Pierino, her true soul mate, Freda feels nothing short of exaltation at the thought that the husband she despises may never return.
From there, she chronicles the surreal events of the days that follow with flashbacks to her own tragic life that explain why she married Alberto; from the horrific accident that devastated her world as a teenager, to the life-changing cruise around the Mediterranean with a sinister but hilarious one-armed companion; from the funeral parlor where Freda works by day as an embalmer, to the seedy cabaret where she performs at night, unleashing her repressed passions.

Cabaret: A Roman Riddle

United States

struggling mortician in working-class Rome, Freda only married her repulsive ventriloquist husband, Alberto, because it was prophesied that she'd do so. Now that he's vanished mysteriously along with his equally abhorrent dummy (who Freda suspects is actually a midget), she'd like them both to stay missing -- though she's devastated by the simultaneous disappearance of her soul mate, Pierino, her beloved talking parrot. While the police investigate this series of possible crimes, Freda will continue embalming by day, unleashing her caged passions at night in a seedy cabaret (until a tragic fire leaves the proprietor with a tuba stuck on his head), trying to make do with a talking hamster in lieu of dear Pierino . . . and recalling the vagaries of life that led her to this unfortunate juncture.

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

Ramona Drottoveo, an albino, is a chambermaid at a lush Italian estate. Distinguished by the intoxicating scent she exudes, Ramona is despised by all women and adored by all men, whose inexhaustible lust she eagerly satisfies. Life changes when her husband dies after discovering his bride with another man on their wedding night. Blamed for his death, Ramona and her lover are exiled to the neighboring city of Naples. There, Ramona's life is transformed once again by the birth of a daughter, Blandina, who "steals" her mother's scent. No longer able to seduce men into blind submission, Ramona humbly returns to the estate to an unexpected welcome - and revenge. A hilarious and naughty celebration of the senses and the strange places they can lead us, Nectar explores the mystery of sexual attraction and the frivolous nature of divine justice.

Nectar: A Novel of Temptation

Since childhood, Rosa Fiore - daughter of a sultry Sicilian matriarch and her hapless husband - found solace in her family's kitchen. La Cucina, the heart of the family's lush estate, was a place where generations of Fiore women prepared sumptuous feasts and where the drama of extended family life was played out around the age-old table.
When Rosa was a teenager, her own cooking became the stuff of legend in this small community that takes pride in the bounty of its landscape and the eccentricity of its inhabitants. Rosa's infatuation with culinary arts was rivaled only by her passion for a young man, Bartolomeo, who, unfortunately, belonged to another. After their love affair ended in tragedy, Rosa retreated first into her kitchen and then into solitude, as a librarian in Palermo. There she stayed for decades, growing corpulent on her succulent dishes, resigned to a loveless life.
Then, one day, she meets the mysterious chef, known only is I'Inglese, whose research on the heritage of Sicilian cuisine leads him to Rosa's library, and into her heart. They share one sublime summer of discovery, during which I'lnglese awakens the power of Rosa's sensuality, and together they reach new heights of culinary passion. When I'Inglese suddenly vanishes, Rosa returns home to the farm to grieve for the loss of her second love. In the comfort of familiar surroundings, among her, growing family, she discovers the truth about her loved ones and finds her life transformed once more by the magic of her cherished Cucina.
Exuberant and touching, La Cucina is a magical evocation of lifes mysterious seasons and the treasures found in each one. It celebrates family, food, passion, and the eternal rapture of romance.

Ramona Drottoveo, an albino with unusual looks, is a chambermaid at a lush Italian estate, La Casa. Further distinguished by the intoxicating scent she exudes, Ramona effortlessly bewitches all men, who are driven into an erotic frenzy each time they inhale her aroma. Ramona -- haughty and misguided -- eagerly satisfies their inexhaustible lust, while the women at the estate scold and despise her.
Ramona's life changes when she marries a sweet beekeeper, a victim of her enchantment. But the marriage doesn't last long: the beekeeper dies after discovering his bride with a new lover on their wedding day. When the beekeeper's body disappears, the superstitious villagers blame Ramona and her lover and exile the couple from the estate to the neighboring city of Naples. The story follows Ramona through her tragicomic misadventures in Naples, where her life is transformed once again. by the birth of an unwanted daughter, Blandina, who "steals" Ramona's scent, depriving her mother of her only asset in life. No longer able to seduce men into blind submission, Ramona returns humbly to La Casa to an unexpected welcome -- and revenge.
A hilarious and naughty celebration of the senses and the strange places they can lead us, Nectar is a wildly entertaining fable on the mystery and cruelty of sexual attraction and the frivolous nature of divine justice.

Ardour

The pain of unrequited love is one of life's great tragedies, but even more heart-breaking is a love that is taboo: a love that crosses the divide between species. When a lonely olive grower sows seeds of love in search of romance, he cannot know the chaos he will cause. Instead of the voluptuous woman of his dreams, the District Health Authority mule, Gezabel, falls head over hooves in love with him. And, as Gezabel narrates, she is not the only lover to get her stars crossed when Ardour casts its spell over the region. As the villagers throw their love away on those who do not return it, remarkable phenomena add to the fevered atmosphere, and passions surge with the soaring temperatures of summer. When the heat wave ends, as it eventually must, bursting like a blister, the dead come back to life, and jealousy leads to murder, before the various lovers' eyes are finally opened, and, for some, true happiness is found. Ardour is a magical tale of love, hope, and fate, sprinkled lightly with tears, combined with a generous measure of comedy.

Genre Fiction

Black Swan.

Nectar

Thorndike Pr

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Books by Prior, Lily

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Prior, Lily. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

La Cucina: A Novel of Rapture

Ardor: A Novel of Enchantment

Ardor: A Novel of Enchantment

Cabaret: A Roman Riddle

Cabaret: A Roman Riddle

Nectar: A Novel of Temptation

La Cucina: A Novel of Rapture

Nectar: A Novel of Temptation

Ardour

Nectar