Heart Most Worthy, A [Paperback]

Siri Mitchell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2011

The elegance of Madame Forza's gown shop is a far cry from the downtrodden North End of Boston. Yet each day Julietta, Annamaria, and Luciana enter the world of the upper class, working on finery for the elite in society. The three beauties each long to break free of their obligations and embrace the American dream--and their chance for love. But the ways of the heart are difficult to discern at times. Julietta is drawn to the swarthy, mysterious Angelo. Annamaria has a star-crossed encounter with the grocer's son, a man from the entirely wrong family. And through no intent of her own, Luciana catches the eye of Billy Quinn, the son of Madame Forza's most important client. Their destinies intertwined, each harboring a secret from their families and each other, will they be found worthy of the love they seek?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Julietta enjoys flirting with boys and wishes she were American rather than an immigrant from southern Italy. Annamaria, from another town in the same area, is serious and devout, resigned to being the family drudge. Luciana, f�ted only child of the Count of Roma until his recent assassination, now goes in fear for her life, especially after glimpsing the anarchist near the shabby Boston tenement she and her grandmother now occupy. The three young women meet and share confidences over their work at Madame Fortier�s, the exclusive gownmaker whose most important client is the formidable Mrs. Quinn. Each girl battles prejudice in her own way, helping her family adapt and merge into the great American melting pot of cultures. Mitchell�s inspirational historical romance, set in 1918, skillfully contrasts the girls� traditional Italian-Catholic upbringing and the bustling, exuberant American lifestyle they crave, using the Great War and Spanish influenza pandemic as an effective backdrop to the young women�s first important steps in self-awareness on the way to adulthood. --Lynne Welch

About the Author

Siri Mitchell, author of Love's Pursuit and She Walks in Beauty, has written eight novels, two of which were named Christy Award finalists. A graduate from the University of Washington with a business degree, she has worked in many levels of government and lived on three continents. She and her family currently reside in the DC Metro Area.

Product Details

• Paperback: 379 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers; Reprinted edition (March 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764207954
• ISBN-13: 978-0764207952
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #788,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

When I'm listening to a speaker and I'm taking notes, chances are, I've just had a great idea for a plot or a dialogue. If I'm nodding my head in response to a really profound statement, I'm probably thinking, 'Yes. Right. That's exactly what my character needs to hear.'

When I'm editing my manuscripts, I laugh at the funny parts. And I cry at the sad parts.

Sometimes I even talk to my characters. 'Okay, Joe. Talk to me. Tell me what you're thinking here.' And yes, the characters answer me. I actually hear them talking in my head.

Half the time, I think I'm an okay writer. The other half, I'm tempted to take a magnet to the hard drive.

The easy part is writing. The hardest part is editing. The worst part is wondering if the books are going to sell.

I have plenty of ideas for books; the thing I lack is the time to write them. I write by the word. Other writers write by the page. However you want to tally it, 85,000 words is a lot of pages.

In the world of writing I have done nothing right. I wrote 4 books and accumulated 153 rejections before I signed with a publisher. And then I had to write a fifth book so that they could publish it. In the process, I saw the bottoms of more pints of Ben & Jerry's than I care to admit. I vowed never to write another word again. Ever. I went on writing strikes and I even stooped to threatening my manuscripts with the shredder.

However. Here I am, ten books into the process, writing my eleventh!

Learn more about me on the web at http://sirimitchell.com

**author photo by Tim Coburn

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely wonderful, March 11, 2011

By 

Deborah "Books, Movies and Chinese Food" (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Heart Most Worthy, A (Paperback)

I have been a HUGE fan of Siri Mitchell's historicals (as well as her other books) so I was so excited to hear about her new book. I always recommend her books to readers whether they read Christian fiction or not because she is one of those authors who I feel crosses markets. Many readers I have chatted with have said that they enjoyed her style of writing and comment on how they didn't realize that a book with faith elements could be written so well. I loved this book so much. It is exactly what I want from a historical fiction book that has romance in it. I'm hesitant to classify this book as a historical romance. It didn't really read like many historical romances that I've read but at the same time there's more romance in here than in other straight up historical fiction. Either way Mitchell skillfully blends the two elements of historical research and romance together into a sweeping read that just pulls you in from the beginning.

The story is set up in a narrative that is different from most books. There's a unnamed narrator who talks about the three main girls. Julietta, Annamaria, and Luciana are all very different in personalities but they have several common threads (pun because they work in a dress shop) that they share. I really enjoyed seeing them become friends and putting aside any harboring feelings that originally had when meeting each other.

The romance in this book made me swoon. I am normally not a big romance fan at all, I usually roll my eyes because the romance scenes are very unrealistic. Therefore for a book to make me swoon must be written extremely well. I loved seeing the girls all discover a suitor in the the most unlikely of circumstances. My absolutely favorite was Annamarie's with the Sicilian grocer. The unspoken affection simply through actions made me sigh. Seriously, I have not read anything that romantic in ages. All three of the girls had wonderful descriptions of their relationships. They aren't fairy tale, happily ever after type of romances but they are realistically portrayals of true love. The other love story in this book involves one that didn't necessarily have a happy ending and is rather bittersweet. In fact it's rather sad and heartbreaking but it's real life.

Mitchell always does a good job with her historical facts and it shows up again in this book. Since the story takes place in the immigrant section of Boston, lots of descriptions of the type of housing and the poverty level is mentioned. I believe also that this is one of the very few Christian fiction books that I have read that talks about anarchism. I found those bits to be really interesting because of the historical aspects that would come into play with WWI approaching in the future. There's not too much history to bore readers who only wanted romance but at the same time for those who like their stories meatier, the facts are fascinating.

Faith elements in the book are present but shown more in a historical presence. Interestingly, since the women are Italian, they are Catholics and therefore attend mass, go to confession and talk to priests. This is interesting because the book will most likely be read by those who are Protestants so it will be good to learn more about Catholicism.

Overall this is one of most satisfying reads that I've read in a long time. Everything I wanted and needed was in this book. As I said before it's rare for a book to include romance in it and make me sigh with content. This book is going to be one of my top reads of the year. I cannot wait for Siri Mitchell's next book to come out because I know that it will be fabulous, just like this one. VERY HIGHLY recommended.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kept me up all night, February 27, 2011

By 

Tony Mitchell (Washington DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heart Most Worthy, A (Paperback)

I couldn't put down this enchanting story of 3 Italian immigrants in 1918 Boston. I stayed up way too late reading this compelling tale. The omniscient narration added humor and insight to the three tightly woven love stories. Julietta, Annamaria, and Luciana all share similar work at Madame Fortier's dress shop, but have vastly constrasting lives. Nevertheless, Siri pulls them all together in a satisfying story of intrigue, desperation, friendship, and of course... romance. Another great book by this master of historical fiction!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sweet and interesting story of Italian immigrants, June 26, 2011

By 

Julie A. Smith "Julie @ Knitting and Sundries" (Cleveland, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heart Most Worthy, A (Paperback)

Three girls, all Italian immigrants, but with very different personal stories. They all work at Madame Fortier's Gown Shop. Madame Fortier isn't really French, but the prejudices against her people keep her close-mouthed about her Italian heritage.

Julietta Giordano is 18 years old. Her specialty is embroidery. Her large Italian family is hard-working and all of their pay goes directly to their father. Julietta is looking for fun, and she has her eye on just the young man to make it happen. She's a bit selfish and very impetuous, and she doesn't realize that you shouldn't always get what you wish for.

Annamaria Rossi is the oldest girl in her family, and as such, she is expected not to marry and to take care of her parents in their old age. Her specialty is smocking. She is an obedient girl, but she can't help herself; she wonders WHY she has to give up her whole life to take care of everyone else? Why can't ALL of the family help take care of her parents?

Luciana Conti escaped Italy with her grandmother after the assassination of her father, the Count of Roma. The Contessa is immobilized by her grief, and the money is running out. Luciana's excellent beadwork will be the key to keeping food in the house; but who will look after her grandmother while she is working? When she sees the anarchist that killed her father on the streets of Boston, she knows that she can't let anyone know who she really is, or he will finish the job he started.

The reader is taken into the early 20th century and experiences the prejudices, hardship, love, and loyalty of the Italian immigrant. There's a social worker that visits Julietta's house who rails against the fact that they eat so many vegetables and not enough meat (thank goodness Julietta's mother doesn't understand English, else she would beat the worker over the head with her soup ladle).

Madame Fortier is the type of woman that most readers will love - strong-willed, hard-working, kind-at-heart, with a back story that unfolds slowly. She has made huge personal sacrifices for love.

What a wonderful story. I found myself very interested in all of the girls, and crossing my fingers for love to find them and for things to work out well. I had a vague understanding of the prejudices that Italian immigrants encountered, but this book gave me a better understanding and at times made my heart ache.

A very sweet (but not saccharine) tale lies within these pages. The touches of humor make it even better.

Now for a little aside: it's classified as Christan fiction, and sometimes I have a difficult time with that label. Is it because all of the girls were Catholic and their journeys to confession play a part in the novel? Is it because it's a clean read? I would personally label this one as historical fiction. This is my first experience with Siri Mitchell's writing, but I would definitely go back for more.

QUOTES:

Mama was going to make her do it? She was going to make her own daughter cross the street and deal with Sicilians? Annamaria had always done everything and anything that her mother had ever asked, but buying tomatoes from Sicilians?

You see, it's all very well and good to judge and moralize, but there are some whose morale has been broken. And for these, sometimes, we just have to let them survive, in hopes that one day they will decide to do more than survive.

They weren't supposed to speak. No self-respecting Avellinesi should speak to a Sicilian. And they could not meet, except for Annamaria's trips to the frutta e verdura, but no one could stop them from staring out the window at each other, if they chose to, of a night. And so they did.

Writing: 4 out of 5 stars

Plot: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Characters: 4 out of 5 stars

Reading Immersion: 4 out 5 stars

BOOK RATING: 4.1 out of 5 stars