Burgundy Bend Press recently announced the release of “The Italian Prisoner,” a work of historical fiction written by Elisa M. Speranza. Set in the Sicilian community of New Orleans’ French Quarter, the novel illuminates a true but little-known story involving Italian prisoners of war on the U.S. home front during WWII.

“The Italian Prisoner” is 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. The book was a finalist in the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition for a novel-in-progress in 2019.