Contents

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. Introduction. Scenes from Nineteenth-Century Italy: Delightful Stories on Those Long, Long Winter Evenings 1
4. Checchina’s Virtue 19
5. Paolina 58
6. Aunt Severina 74
7. The Lady of the Evening 81
8. Winter Evenings 85
9. Learn a Trade for a Rainy Day 93
10. Dear Hope 117
11. The Bread of the Departed 126
12. The Caning 144
13. The Coral Necklace 165
14. Woes of the Middle Class 173
15. Scorn for Life 187
16. Afterword. Ladies, Chickens, and Queens: The Strong Voices of Italian Women Writers 191
17. Bio-bibliographies of the Authors 199