In Search of Elisa Marchetti: A Writer's Search for Her Italian Family

by Tessa Duder

A mix of detective and travel story, this is an account of writer Tessa Duder's search for her Italian roots. Her great-grandparents emigrated to New Zealand from Italy in 1876, their youngest daughter, Elisa, was Tessa's maternal grandmother. Elisa passed on to Tessa a deep love of Italian opera, art and language. As she travels to Italy to research her ancestors she uncovers a story of deception and disappointment.

220 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2002

About the author

Tessa Duder trained as a journalist, and spent fifteen years rearing four daughters before she turned to writing fiction in her late thirties. Her books include the four Alex novels, Jellybean and Night Race to Kawau, as well as ten titles of non-fiction for both adults and young people. She's also an editor, short story writer, playwright and actor. Born in Auckland in 1940, she's lived most of her life there, except for periods spent in England, Pakistan and Malaysia.

Tessa Duder lives in Auckland, New Zealand, where she writes full time.

Reviews

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tessa Duder is a favorite of mine, her 'Alex' books and 'Tiggie Tompson' trilogy being particularly dear to me, so I was pleased to come across this book at my local Hospice shop.
It's a pleasant, interesting read, as Tessa travels to Livorno, to try and track down information about her Italian ancestors. There isn't much to go on, and with a fairly significant language barrier, what she does find out is hard earned.

I found myself enjoying a few chapters of this each day and am glad that I read it. It's not action packed, there are no deep dark family secrets lurking about, but it is engaging and thoughtful. I myself am not all that interested in genealogy, but I liked following along as Tessa did her research.