Ellen Cooney

The year is 1943. The Nazis have invaded Italy; American troops have landed. At Aldo's restaurant on the Adriatic coast, Lucia Fantini entertained customers for years with her marvelous opera singing. But normal operations are over. The restaurant has been seized by nazifascisti, and a Resistance squad of waiters and local tradesmen has been formed, led by Lucia's son, Beppino.

When Beppino disappears, Lucia must journey across war-devastated Italy to find him. Aided by a richly drawn cast of characters, the story of her adventures is told with the vigor, drama, and lyrical grace of an Italian opera, in a brilliantly arranged narrative that places tragic events side-by-side with high comedy, domestic intrigues, and gripping details. In this captivating story of a mother and son, Cooney enters a world of peril and chance, and brings to life the extraordinary Resistance movement of the Italian people.

A Private Hotel for Gentle Ladies
(Anchor, 2007)
(Pantheon, 2005)

Charlotte Heath, a lively, independent redhead of humble beginnings, is married to the scion of the powerful Heath family. When, on her first outing after a long illness, she spies her husband, Hays, bending to kiss another woman in the village square, impulsive Charlotte heads her horses straight out of town.

Upon arriving at The Beechmont Hotel, Charlotte makes a shocking discovery: the classy Beechmont is a rather unique institution where a different kind of hospitality awaits the all-female clientele.

Seductive and high-spirited, A Private Hotel for Gentle Ladies is an unforgettable novel of one woman’s journey to self-enlightenment.

Gun Ball Hill
(University Press of New England, 2004)

A novel of grief and uncertainty in the face of war.

The White Palazzo
(Coffee House Press, 2002)

Days before her wedding, Tara Barlow ditches her fiance and her hometown to head west in her prize Mustang after she discovers that her dream wedding venue -- the White Cliffs -- has burned down.

Tara’s alarmed family sends the town psychic, Guida, to find her. When she tracks Tara to a town full of Fellini-esque characters, the two find themselves surprised but requited in their mutual attraction. They immediately hit the road, attempting to live out the happy ending Thelma and Louise only dreamed about.

The Old Ballerina
(Coffee House Press, 1999)

In her third novel, Ellen Cooney tells a story about the creative process, and about how art can and must happen anywhere and everywhere-- including a small mill town, outside the academy and outside the confines of the art institutions of the city. In a world of corporate homogeneity and the mass-marketization of culture, the story of Mrs. Kamsky is emblematic of the independent voice and the creative spirit-- the little artist that could.

Grieving the defection of her protge and recovering from a hip injury, Mrs. Kamsky unexpectedly renews her passion for life and for dance when she teaches a class of teenage boys-- including one who's recruited for ballet lessons as punishment for breaking a classmate's leg in anger. In the tradition of Anne Lamott and Natalie Goldberg, Ellen Cooney tells a story about the artistic drive to create-- alternately narrated by the central character's closest friends, her loving and demanding students, her discontented protegé, and her inquisitive neighbors.

With prose that performs pirouettes and plis, The Old Ballerina tells a story about teaching and learning, the individual and the community, and above all, the healing power of the arts.

Small Town Girl
(Houghton Mifflin, 1983)

Colleen's relationship with her best friend, her first love, her Catholic education, and her budding literary talent are all vital parts of her life growing up in a small Massachusetts town in the 1960s.