In exploring a family’s genealogy, we often assume that we will make a tidy family tree. But dipping into the past is not tidy.
This question led her to her great grandfather, Pasquale Orzo, born in Italy to an unwed mother in 1870. At that time, it was considered shameful for a woman to have a baby out of wedlock. The baby would be taken from its mother and forced into a foundling home by the Catholic Church, almost certain to die there. In fact, in 1870 in the region where Pasquale was born, more than 93% of babies ripped from their mothers by the Church died in foundling homes within a year. Little Pasquale survived. But how? Did his mother, Filomena Scrivano, go against the Church to protect her child? Just what was the story of this brave woman, Ricci’s great great grandmother?
In Finding Filomena, Ricci crafts a lively and imaginative fictional account of Filomena, exploring just how her ancestor might have saved her child. Here we find a woman who is not a victim. She has strength and agency, as well as a cast of colorful characters who help her in her quest.
And it doesn’t seem like a coincidence that Filomena’s last name, Scrivano, means scribe in English. In the novel, Filomena is a writer who literally writes herself and her story into being. And the reader gets the feeling that Ricci is also writing HER story into being, with the clear belief in the power of writing to right a wrong.
In the end, we watch Filomena claim her child and her legacy, just as Ricci makes claim to the dignity of her extraordinary lineage.
If you are interested in pre-ordering a paperback copy of "Finding Filomena," please contact me at claudiajricci@gmail.com
