Soldier, Diplomat, Archaeologist: A Novel Based on the Bold Life of Louis Palma di Cesnola

by Peg A. Lamphier

Overview

He fought for himself.

He fought for his country.

He fought for acceptance.

 

As the son of an Italian count, Cavalry Colonel Louis Palma di Cesnola had more military experience than most of the leading officers in the Civil War. Objecting to his general's orders, di Cesnola led his men into battle, earning himself a Medal of Honor.

 

When di Cesnola was captured and thrown into the notorious Libby Prison, he was forced to examine his life decisions. Upon release, di Cesnola was torn between his desire to return to war or to his wife and daughter—a battle of his heart and his duty.  

 

Once the war ended, di Cesnola became America's consul for archaeological excavators, and eventually became the first director of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. With every step of success, di Cesnola was forced to prove himself in a country that emphatically disapproved of immigrants. His plight forged a path of national acceptance of Italian-Americans throughout the entire country.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940155366850
Publisher:	Mentoris Project
Publication date:	01/02/2018
Sold by:	Draft2Digital
Format:	eBook
File size:	411 KB

About the Author

Peg A. Lamphier lives in the mountains of Southern California with five dogs, seven tortoises, a huge cat, two canaries, one husband, one daughter, and a collection of vintage ukuleles. When she's not writing fiction or otherwise fooling around she's a professor at California State Polytechnic, Pomona, and Mount San Antonio Community College. For more information and to sign up for her newsletter see www.peglamphier.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Prologue: Charge and Charge Again

Part I

Chapter One: No Sooner Met

Chapter Two: Gone to War

Chapter Three: Revolution and Reversal

Chapter Four: Cavalry Lessons

Chapter Five: Charging the Crimea

Chapter Six: Saber and Siege

Chapter Seven: Becoming Italian-American

Chapter Eight: Oppressed, He Rises Again

Chapter Nine: This War Will Never End

Chapter Ten: Cold Like a Stone

Part II

Chapter Eleven: Libby-Lice-See-Um

Chapter Twelve: Belle Island Blues

Chapter Thirteen: Until the Bitter End

Chapter Fourteen: A Soldier’s Heart

Chapter Fifteen: Starting Over

Chapter Sixteen: Digging for Treasure

Chapter Seventeen: Making a Museum

Chapter Eighteen: Once More Into the Breach

Chapter Nineteen: Taps

Postscript: Real and Not-So-Real Things

About the Author

Editorial Reviews

2018-05-07
An Italian-born adventurer battles Austrians, Russians, Confederates, and anti-immigrant bigotry in this fictionalized saga of a real-life American hero.Lamphier (The Great Show, 2017, etc.) novelizes the outlines of Louis Palma di Cesnola's busy life while imaginatively fleshing out scenes of romance, combat, and trauma. The second son of an Italian count, Cesnola bitterly ships out to military school at the age of 14 in 1846 after his true love marries his older brother, the heir to the family title. His timing is great: He soon enlists in the Sardinian army to join Italy's war of liberation against the Austrian Empire; he weathers endless boredom in camp punctuated by extreme panic in a saber melee, for which he wins promotion to lieutenant. Cashiered after getting caught in bed with a general's wife, he finds his way to the Crimean War, where he again sits around in squalid camps but gets in a few wild hours slaughtering Russian soldiers. Then he's off to New York under the Americanized name Louis P. di Cesnola to wed heiress Mary Reid and join the Union Army as a cavalry colonel in the Civil War. Many battles with Confederate cavalry genius Jeb Stuart ensue until Cesnola is captured. His story turns dark and harrowing as he and his fellow POWs face death from disease and semistarvation in harsh Confederate camps. Cesnola survives and, after the war, serves as U.S. consul in Cyprus, where he turns his hand to archaeology and excavates many ancient artifacts; that new profession eventually lands him the directorship of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. The real Cesnola led an iconic 19th-century life, and Lamphier's energetic novel deftly conveys the dizzying self-reinventions he undertook in that bustling age. Her rousing narrative features much engrossing military and archaeological lore, generous helpings of mayhem ("Parnell slashed at his opponent, sinking his saber deep in the man's neck"), and a piquant love story, as Cesnola and Mary's initially pragmatic relationship—she's lonely; he's broke—deepens into profound affection. The story's Italian-American pride theme is sometimes intrusive, with Cesnola quick to blame slights and reversals on anti-Italian prejudice among the WASP establishment. Still, when his blood is up, he's a plucky, appealing hero.An entertaining biographical novel rich in action and period details.

Kirkus Reviews