The Palace - Hardcover

But what is a fairytale without a love interest? In The Palace, that role is assumed by the phantom figure of Donna Donatella, the daughter of a prominent landowner for whom Gabriele did some work before the war. Though he glimpsed her only once and has never seen her again, del Campo dedicates his life and newfound wealth to creating a palace fit for his dream girl. St. Aubin de Terán invests her story with wit and not a few surprising twists--for in the end, Donna Donatella may well have been supplanted in Gabriele's heart by the very monument he has built to celebrate her. Charming, subtle, and evocative, The Palace is a remarkable novel that explores the mercurial frontier between passion and obsession. --Margaret Prior

Lisa St Aubin de Terán is the award-winning author of several novels and has also published a volume of poetry, a collection of short stories, and a memoir, The Hacienda, which was a New York Times Notable Book. She is the founder and managing director of the Teran Foundation, a charitable organization that works to establish schools and farm projects in the north of Mozambique. She lives in Amsterdam.