Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at LSU will host Louisiana author Elisa M. Speranza at the Main Library at Goodwood, 7711 Goodwood Blvd., Baton Rouge, at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 14. Speranza will discuss the fascinating true back story to her novel, "The Italian Prisoner." The event is free and open to the public.

A work of historical fiction set in the Sicilian community of New Orleans’ French Quarter, "The Italian Prisoner" illuminates a little-known story involving Italian prisoners of war on the U.S. homefront during World War II. "It’s an engrossing tale of wartime love, family secrets, and a young woman’s struggle to chart her own course at an inflection point in American history," a news release states.