Overview

When people think of Emilio Pucci, it is of his bright, swirling colors and easy, freeing fabrics, and everyone from Sophia Loren to Jackie Kennedy donning the eye-catching dresses that personify La Dolce Vita. What few know about Pucci, however, is that before creating his world-famous fashions, he played a critical role in the war against the Nazis, risking his life to smuggle out to the Allies one of the most important documents of World War II. The authors bring to life Italy's darkest and brightest days, with the extraordinary Emilio Pucci at its center. Italy at the end of the war was broken, and Florence, which the Pucci family had called home for seven centuries, lay in ruins. Pucci returned home having endured trials that would have broken many, but, like Italy itself, rose from the ashes, and went on to design some of the most exuberant fashion of all time. He helped usher in a new era of creativity in Italy, which again became a mecca of fashion, art, design, film, and more. A host of supporting characters-including Mussolini's daughter and Allen Dulles, and, most importantly, the timeless city of Florence and the mythic island of Capri-enrich this compelling narrative that will draw readers of all kinds, from war and history buffs, to fashionistas and fans of espionage thrillers along with the millions of readers who devour books about Italy and her many charms.

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9781250289674

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Reviews

Praise for Emilio Pucci ""A fascinating book...unveiling Emilio's unknown past. In the end, the arc of his story moves from black and white into brilliant color."" --Suzi Menkes, from the Foreword Praise for Searching for Hassan ""Astonishing and deeply poignant."" --The Washington Post ""Quixotic, colorful and amusing."" --The New York Times Book Review ""Informative and touching, a marvelously nuanced portrait of Iran. A heartening testament."" --Elle ""An intricate image of a nation caught in a tug of war with itself."" --Los Angeles Times ""[A] nostalgic, sometimes harrowing pilgrimage."" --The New Yorker ""A wonderfully tactile, rich book written with the right kind of search in mind (the search for grace)."" --Esquire Praise for The Lady of Sing Sing ""This story is as gripping as any four-star nail- at your local multiplex. It's also completely true. Readers will come away from this crackling page turner with a new understanding of how different things were a century ago, and how very much the same."" --San Francisco Chronicle ""A real story found in an old chest provides all the drama needed today for film roles for women. In 1890s Manhattan, abuse and rape led to a crime that churned up a nation already rumbling about women's rights.""--New York Daily News ""Combining her own family history, Pucci investigates the sensational crime and its equally sensational aftermath.""--Washington Post ""Reads like a verismo opera of naiveté, lust, and abuse.""--New York Law Journal ""In the spirit of sensational trials across the ages, Idanna Pucci pulls out all the stops."" --The New York Times ""Pucci burrows into the clay of history to make these characters come alive.""--Chicago Tribune ""Gripping social history.""-- Publishers Weekly

Praise for Searching for Hassan ""Astonishing and deeply poignant."" --The Washington Post ""Quixotic, colorful and amusing."" --The New York Times Book Review ""Informative and touching, a marvelously nuanced portrait of Iran. A heartening testament."" --Elle ""An intricate image of a nation caught in a tug of war with itself."" --Los Angeles Times ""[A] nostalgic, sometimes harrowing pilgrimage."" --The New Yorker ""A wonderfully tactile, rich book written with the right kind of search in mind (the search for grace)."" --Esquire Praise for The Lady of Sing Sing ""This story is as gripping as any four-star nail- at your local multiplex. It's also completely true. Readers will come away from this crackling page turner with a new understanding of how different things were a century ago, and how very much the same."" --San Francisco Chronicle ""A real story found in an old chest provides all the drama needed today for film roles for women. In 1890s Manhattan, abuse and rape led to a crime that churned up a nation already rumbling about women's rights.""--New York Daily News ""Combining her own family history, Pucci investigates the sensational crime and its equally sensational aftermath.""--Washington Post ""Reads like a verismo opera of naiveté, lust, and abuse.""--New York Law Journal ""In the spirit of sensational trials across the ages, Idanna Pucci pulls out all the stops."" --The New York Times ""Pucci burrows into the clay of history to make these characters come alive.""--Chicago Tribune ""Gripping social history.""-- Publishers Weekly

Praise for Emilio Pucci ""A fascinating book...unveiling Emilio's unknown past. In the end, the arc of his story moves from black and white into brilliant color."" --Suzy Menkes, from the Foreword, legendary fashion critic, International Herald Tribune, Paris ""A vivid and fascinating biography of a remarkable man. Long before he became one of the world's most celebrated fashion designers, Emilio Pucci had been a fighter pilot and victim of both Nazi torture and the duplicity of the future head of the CIA. Skilfully weaving together the history of Pucci's times with the events of his extraordinary life, Ward and Pucci's niece tell for the first time the story of his role in saving and smuggling into Allied hands what the New York Times called ""one of the most important historic documents of the Second World War."" --John Hooper, Italy and Vatican correspondent of The Economist. and award winning author of The Italians and The New Spaniards. ""Behind the powerful imagery of Pucci designs lies a remarkable tale of courage and intrigue that totally redefines our understanding of this great fashion designer. This is the poignant, gripping narrative replete with alliances, tragedies, manipulation, betrayals and daring - all shadowed by the unexpected in the dying months of WWII. "" --Alexander Vreeland, author of Diana Vreeland: Bon Mots, Words of Wisdom from the Empress of Fashion

Author Information

Terence Ward is the author of Searching for Hassan: A Journey to the Heart of Iran and The Guardian of Mercy: How an Extraordinary Painting by Caravaggio Changed an Ordinary Life. Idanna Pucci is the author of The Lady of Sing Sing and The World Odyssey of a Balinese Prince. Idanna grew up in the Pucci palace, eyewitness to her uncle's extraordinary work. She and Terence have had far flung lives, from Iran to Indonesia. They live in Florence.

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