Italy 1899: Fiery-tempered, erotic medium Alessandra Poverelli levitates a table at a Spiritualist séance in Naples. A reporter photographs the miracle, and wealthy, skeptical, Jewish psychiatrist Camillo Lombardi arrives in Naples to investigate. When she materializes the ghost of his dead mother, he risks his reputation and fortune to finance a tour of the Continent, challenging the scientific and academic elite of Europe to test Alessandra’s mysterious powers. She will help him rewrite Science. His fee will help her escape her sadistic husband Pigotti and start a new life in Rome. Newspapers across Europe trumpet her Cinderella story and baffling successes, and the public demands to know – does the “Queen of Spirits” really have supernatural powers? Nigel Huxley is convinced she’s simply another vulgar, Italian trickster. The icy, aristocratic detective for England’s Society for the Investigation of Mediums launches a plot to trap and expose her. Meanwhile, the Vatican is quietly digging up her childhood secrets, desperate to discredit her supernatural powers; her abusive husband Pigotti is coming to kill her; and the tarot cards predict catastrophe. Praised by Kirkus Reviews as an “enchanting and graceful narrative” that absorbs readers from the very first page, The Witch of Napoli masterfully resurrects the bitter 19th century battle between Science and religion over the possibility of an afterlife.
"mesmerizing, masterful, and authentic...Highly recommended."
"Thought-provoking...an extraordinary evocation of the Italian spirit."
This debut historical fantasy chronicles the life and times of a famous psychic medium during the late Victorian era. It’s 1918 in Italy, and the incomparable psychic Alessandra Poverelli has died. Tomaso Labella, editor of the newspaper Messaggero, is one of the people who knew her best. He fondly remembers meeting her in 1899, when he was a young photographer and she was an up-and-coming medium. She did more than talk to the dead, however—she could also levitate tables (with a poorly understood telekinesis), which brought her attention from scientific circles. She and Tomaso eventually toured Europe alongside the evolutionist and spiritualism skeptic Camillo Lombardi. This helped Alessandra escape her abusive husband, Pigotti, to whom she never planned to return. Yet, as her reputation soared, she became the target of those who aggressively tried to discredit her. Soon the pace of touring and nightly seances started to ruin Alessandra’s health—and she could only perform when in high spirits, surrounded by positive onlookers. When the church learned of her abilities, they endeavored to expose a tragic secret from her past. Little did her enemies know that the psychic could also channel a demonic presence that didn’t suffer fools lightly. Author Schmicker (The Listener, 2010) delivers an enchanting, graceful narrative that will absorb readers from the first page. Historical elements help ground the story and highlight psychic events when they do happen; we learn, for example, that there “were a lot of dead for [Alessandra] to talk to. Cholera swept through Naples all the time, and every family had lost a child...and hoped to make contact one last time.” The novel is bittersweet as the teen Tomaso pines for a love twice his age. He tells us she “was the first woman in my life.” Also impressive is how Schmicker captures the tone of the era: “The English rarely bother to learn any other language...why should they, they run the world.” In a tale this robust, readers shouldn’t take offense at the few slurs used in context. A fully transporting debut that should whet appetites for a follow-up.
(Book publication date: January 2015)
"Meticulously researched...a riveting tale of 19th century Europe and its obsession with the occult."
"One of a kind...a deeply moving novel you can't put down."
March 6 should see the Witch soaring on Amazon.com Bookbub's 2+ million members get a chance to buy the Witch of Napoli for 99 cents this Friday. The international promotion runs 14 days only, before the price goes back up to $3.99
On March 6, 2015, The Witch of Napoli made the Amazon Top 100 list, ranking #41 in paid books out of 3.3 million books in the Amazon Kindle Store.It also earned the #1 slot in both the Historical Fantasy and Victorian Historical Fiction categories.
