The heroine of the novel by the famous Italian writer Bianca Pitzorno is a girl from an extremely poor family, born in a small town on Sardinia in the late 19th century. She taught herself to read, adores ladies’ love stories and Puccini’s operas, but even if somewhere in her heart she dreams of a wonderful prince, in real life she relies only on her own mind and skilled hands. Through the eyes of a young dressmaker who is welcomed into wealthy homes, we see the astonishing stories of the residents of her town. Here there are love dramas, broken hearts, and even a murder (or maybe a suicide?). “The Seamstress from Sardinia” brings to mind the classic novels her heroine loves to read—yet at the same time it raises very modern themes: women’s independence, belief in one’s own strength, freedom, and the search for one’s own path.