{"product_id":"the-blackest-time-a-novel-of-florence-during-the-black-plague-9781685136536","title":"The Blackest Time: A Novel of Florence during the Black Plague","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Tentarelli's ability to immerse readers in medieval Florence's sights, sounds, and struggles makes this a novel worth diving into.\" -\u003cem\u003eThe Literary Titan\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt's Europe in the 1300s, and Gino, a young man living in rural Italy, leaves behind the familiarity of his family's farm to seek a new life as an apprentice in an apothecary shop in Florence.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut Gino's dream quickly becomes a nightmare as relentless rain destroys crops in the countryside, leading to famine and despair in the city. He is grief stricken to lose contact with his family when they are forced to flee their farm.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJust as the rains end, the devastating Black Plague sweeps through Florence. Fear and superstition consume the city, targeting priests, immigrants, and women accused of practicing witchcraft.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEven with his own challenges, Gino offers help to the suffering-a woman left alone in the city, a young girl orphaned by the plague, and people who have lost everything. And just as he's providing hope to others, glimmers of happiness come his way as well, even in a world teetering on the edge.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Blackest Time\u003c\/em\u003e is a powerful tale of compassion, love, and the human spirit's ability to endure immense adversity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTentarelli, Ken:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Ken Tentarelli is a frequent visitor to Italy. In travels from the Alps to the southern coast of Sicily, he developed a love for its history and its people. He has studied Italian culture and language in Rome and Perugia, background he used in his award-winning series of historical thrillers set in the Italian Renaissance. He has taught courses in Italian history spanning time from the Etruscans to the Renaissance, and he's a strong advocate of libraries and has served as a trustee of his local library and officer of the library foundation. When not traveling, Ken and his wife live in beautiful New Hampshire.","brand":"Black Rose Writing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51649020461330,"sku":"9781685136536","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_8ac39d99-b790-4074-805c-de3c12518688.jpg?v=1759842899","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-blackest-time-a-novel-of-florence-during-the-black-plague-9781685136536","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}