Grazia
by Patricia Frankie-Deverell

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In early 20th-century Toronto, thirteen-year-old Grazia Carbone is pushed into marriage and motherhood long before she is ready. Living in the crowded Italian Colony and working long days in a hotel laundry, she shoulders the weight of a household while quietly mourning the childhood she never had. Intelligent and restless, Grazia yearns for a life that feels like her own. When a city fire brings a newcomer into her orbit, Grazia encounters, for the first time, someone who truly sees her. Their unexpected connection awakens hopes she never allowed herself to imagine, even as it threatens the fragile balance she must maintain at home. Meanwhile, the city is gripped by the strange Millar Will, a wealthy man’s posthumous challenge that turns childbirth into competition. For families in poverty, it is both a lifeline and a cruel spectacle—one that draws Grazia deeper into difficult choices about security, loyalty, and her own future. As prejudice intensifies and political upheaval abroad filters into her community, Grazia must navigate the blurred lines between survival and selfhood. Inspired by true events in Toronto’s history, Grazia is a richly drawn portrait of a young woman carving out meaning and agency in a world determined to contain her, and discovering the quiet power of wanting more.

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“An eloquent, intimate novel that speaks as much to the issues of today—immigration, class disparity, reproductive rights—as to the historical era it so expertly depicts. Grazia traces the destiny of the Carbone family, an Italian immigrant family, as they try to integrate into Toronto during one of the most bizarre and baffling episodes: the Great Stork Derby. Rendered with exquisite care and an unflinching focus on the lives of women, this book is moving, memorable, and simply must be read.” —MATTHEW J. TRAFFORD, author of Runs in the Blood “. . . a starkly realistic story of Toronto's social and immigrant history about a woman, Grazia, who is torn between her duties as a mother and her desires for another life . . . and the immigrants who built Toronto into a more cultural and metropolitan city. A story worth telling.” —F.G. PACI, author of Black Madonna and 12 other novels and 3 collections of short stories

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Patricia Frankie-Deverell holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from McGill University, where she was awarded the McConnell Memorial Fellowship for graduate work. Though Patricia enjoyed a fulfilling career in teaching and administration, her passion for storytelling has been a lifelong pursuit. She turned her attention to her love of writing when she retired. Grazia, her debut novel, is a work of fiction inspired by family history and true events. Patricia lives in Toronto with her husband, Michael, and is close to her two grown children and grandchildren.

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