Following her parents' deaths from cholera, an impoverished young woman learns to sew at the hands of her grandmother, becoming a sought-after sartina. Her skills gain her access to some of the wealthier homes in Sardinia, where she observes the intrigues of the rich and comes to love reading and opera. Bianca Pitzorno skillfully evokes the rigors of a world in which literacy is a luxury, and ordinary comforts are only acquired with blood and sweat. Impeccably researched, The Seamstress of Sardinia is absorbingly detailed and generous in spirit. (BH)