Reviewed by Vicki Carver
Jacqueline DeJohn is a newly published writer whose first novel is
titled Antonio’s Wife. The book is fictional but is based upon
several
of DeJohn’s ancestors who immigrated to New York City from Italy in the
early 1900’s.
Mina DiGianni is a young lace maker who has traveled to New York City and married a man she thought she had known years before in Italy. Unfortunately, her new husband Antonio is a violent and abusive man involved is an adulterous affair with tavern owner, Kathleen Shaunessey.
Mina has been working for little pay as a lace maker. An opportunity arises for her to become a costume maker for a famous opera singer, Francessa Frascatti. Mina begins to make a substantial income, seven dollars a week, and she starts to plan for her freedom from Antonio. She also meets and is mesmerized by Dante Romaro, who is supposedly involved with Francessa. Actually Dante is a detective working for Francessa trying to find her long-lost daughter.
Once the framework is in place for Antonio’s Wife, the plot definitely begins to “thicken”. Antonio and Katherine begin to realize how they can become wealthy by exploiting Mina’s situation. Meanwhile, Francesca slowly but surely decides that Mina is more than a costume maker. Mina is also her daughter.
Antonio’s Wife moves along with the plot becoming more and more twisted. There are two stories occurring simultaneously: Antonio’s and Kathleen’s ruthless desire for wealth and power vs. Mina’s growing feelings towards Francessa and Dante. The last part of the story is a hair-raising experience as Mina’s fate isdetermined. Eventually justice is served although there is a fair amount of involvement by spies, corrupt police officers and greedy opportunists. Antonio’s Wife contains some abrasive language and has a large cast of characters to keep track of. However, the book does give the reader an impression of how difficult life was for millions of people who immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century, especially if they were single women.