Pandora's Bottle

by Joanne Sydney Lessner

Overview

What happens when you pin your hopes on a single event—and it all goes terribly wrong? When that event is the uncorking of a fabled bottle of 1787 Château Lafite once owned by Thomas Jefferson, the repercussions prove emotional, financial, theatrical and, in every way, unexpected. In this provocative tale of hubris and redemption, aspiration and perseverance, first-time novelist Joanne Sydney Lessner provides a fun, fast-paced glimpse into the world of fine wine, from the whirl of New York City haute cuisine to the historic vineyards of the Hudson Valley.

When financier Sy Hampton purchases this legendary bottle—which, through a quirk of preservation, may yet be drinkable—he shocks the wine community by choosing to uncork it privately with a female companion, rather than share it at a special public event. Sy intends the evening to be a quiet reassertion of his virility in the throes of middle age, but for ambitious restaurateur Annette Lecocq, the event offers an irresistible opportunity for much-needed publicity. Their competing agendas are not the only things to collide on the fateful night. Caught in the crossfire are Tripp Macgregor, a waiter on the verge of his long-awaited Broadway debut, and Valentina D'Ambrosio, the beautiful but unworldly working girl from Brooklyn Sy hopes to impress.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780982520826
Publisher:	Flint Mine Press
Publication date:	07/22/2010
Pages:	230
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)
Age Range:	12 Years

About the Author

Joanne Sydney Lessner has written the book and lyrics to several musicals, including the cult hit Fermat's Last Tango, and Einstein's Dreams, based on the celebrated novel by Alan Lightman. Ms. Lessner's plays include Critical Mass, which won the 2009 Heiress Productions Playwriting Competition and is slated for a New York production in the fall of 2010, and Crossing Lines, a finalist for the Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference. She is a regular contributing writer to Opera News and holds a BA in music, summa cum laude, from Yale University. Also active as a singer and actor, she has performed on and off Broadway. Ms. Lessner was raised in the Hudson Valley and currently resides in New York City with her husband and two children. Pandora's Bottle is her first novel.

What People are Saying About This

Jonathan Levi

Lessner has served up a bubbly, big-haired and big-hearted opus magnum, redolent of the vanities of New York, with a whiff of Wodehouse and a dash of Dickens, full of raucous overtones but with a gentle finish. Drinkable immediately! (Jonathan Levi, author of A Guide for the Perplexed)

Marc Acito

Pandora's Bottle is as delicious as a vintage Château Lafite and almost as rare—a novel that is as entertaining as it is smart. Joanne Sydney Lessner serves it with just the right dish of human folly. (Marc Acito, author of How I Paid for College and Attack of the Theater People)

Carlo De Vito

Joanne Sydney Lessner has carefully crafted a well-wrought, fun, and fastpaced book detailing the highs and lows of the wine world. A great read. (Carlo De Vito, author of East Coast Wineries and 10 Secrets My Dog Taught Me)