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    The American Lady
    The American Lady
    The American Lady
    Audiobook14 hours

    The American Lady

    Written by Petra Durst-Benning

    Narrated by Kristin Watson Heintz

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Tempestuous and beautiful Wanda Miles, daughter of Ruth and Stephen Miles (or so she thinks), aspires to more than the life of a debutante, but the trouble is she doesn’t know precisely what she wants. Then her aunt Marie, the family’s renowned glassblower, arrives from Lauscha, Germany, and Wanda decides that learning about her ancestry may hold the key to her future. When Marie accidentally reveals a long-held secret about Wanda’s parents, Wanda goes to Lauscha to unravel the truth.

    While Marie finds herself increasingly swept up in New York City’s bohemian social scene—catching the eye of a handsome young Italian in the process—Wanda explores a past she never knew in the village of her mother’s youth—and begins to build a life that she never expected.

    A sweeping tale that takes readers from the small town of Lauscha to the skyscrapers of New York and the sun-kissed coast of Italy, The American Lady is a tribute to the enduring power of family and what we’ll do in the name of love.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    TranslatorSamuel Willcocks
    Release dateJun 16, 2015
    ISBN9781511305310
    The American Lady
    Author

    Petra Durst-Benning

    Petra Durst-Benning was born in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in 1965. For more than twenty years, she has been writing bestselling historical and contemporary novels, including The Glassblower’s Trilogy, The Century Trilogy, and The Seed Traders’ Saga. Translated into several languages, Petra Durst-Benning’s novels have sold more than a million copies in English. She now lives with her husband and two dogs in the countryside south of Stuttgart. For more information, visit www.durst-benning.de.

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    Reviews for The American Lady

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    • 4/5
      The Translator to English, Samuel Willcocks, is to be praised for making the translation so thoroughly that the phrasing did not have any semblance of awkwardness. The author, Petra Durst-Benning, has offered us a time slip in this novel of almost 20 years since all the Lauscha characters first appeared. Indeed, Thomas Heimer appears to his young daughter as a down-trodden and aged man when she finally has gone to do some knocking on his door in Germany.As an American reader, I find this episode(2nd in the trilogy) interesting since the coming of age of the young Wanda Heimer unfolds with a tragedy, experienced in the events she must endure as the episode wraps up. She starts out a bit shy and uncertain as to whether she can find a commonality with her aunt, and then Wanda becomes caught up in her German visiting Aunt Marie Steinmann's interest in artistic expression in New York City. When Marie chooses to leave NYC and go to Genoa Italy with her Franco who has swept her off her feet, her life is altered in many ways and from then on starts to spiral out of her own control. Wanda goes to Lauscha to pick up some pieces for Marie's sisters to help soften the blow of losing Marie as a worker during the late summertime, and endures a bad illness just to start. Despite a sometimes gloomy state of affairs within the scenes in Genoa and throughout the business arrangements in NYC, Genoa, and Lauscha, the book does append a number of hopeful scenes during which engaging and meaningful, human interchanges take place to cement the characters' love for one another, and their striving to better themselves. I think it's a story that can appeal to women on the cusp of asserting their independence - since independence and responsibilities in the home are heavily intertwined in the themes. My conclusion is that it's not a bright and flighty read, but it will bring the reader closer to an experience of the daily changes and demands of life with some realism built into the dramas.
    • 5/5
      The three books in this trilogy are The Glassblower, The American Lady and The Paradise of Glass. I enjoyed all three books and were sorry to see them end. They tell the story of three sisters Johanna, Ruth and Marie in Germany in fall 1890 to the end on 1911. Their father all their lives have sheltered them from the outside world, so when their father suddenly dies the girls are all left alone in a town where only the men are glassblowers and breadwinners of the family. The girl's struggle to find a way to survive, but triumphant through the years having families.
    • 2/5
      The entire Glassblowers trilogy came to me at the same time and I tried to work my way through them. My response to the series is "Little Women" with a little sex. Not interesting to me in the slightest but I can understand that people who like easy-going books that tell a story might find them pleasing.I received a review copy of the Glassblowers Trilogy by Petra Durst-Benning (Amazon Crossing) through NetGalley.com.
    • 4/5
      This was a part of the Glassblower series. I really enjoyed it. I'm not a love story person. Even though these have love stories in them they are so much more. This book was more about Marie and Wanda. Wanda is Ruth's daughter. Wanda is trying to find herself and not really finding where she fits in. She knows nothing of her biological father. Marie has a creative block so she goes to America for a visit and to hopefully be able to craft again. It kept me reading. The characters are humorous and uplifting. The story line was good. I was glad of the outcome. Sad ending. But we will see what becomes of it all in the next book.
    • 4/5
      The American Lady by Petra Durst-Benning is the second book in The Glassblowers Trilogy. Ruth Steinmann has immigrated to America with Steven Miles and her daughter, Wanda. After two years Ruth was able to get a divorce from her husband Thomas. It is now seventeen years later. Wanda is a young lady who is a very independent thinker. Despite the fact that her family is wealthy, Wanda wants to work a job. Wanda has just gotten a job a Dittmer’s Deli. Unfortunately, things do not go well and Wanda is fired from another job. Wanda’s problem is that she does not like to follow orders or rules. Johanna married Peter Maienbaum and has two children (twins), Anna and Johannes. Marie Steinmann has been blowing glass for nineteen years and she is now only one among many women blowing glass. Marie, though, feels like she is in a rut. Johanna suggests that she take a trip to America to see Ruth, Steven, and Wanda. Marie agrees to the trip and sets sail for New York. Ruth is very excited to see Marie. Ruth plans parties and shopping trips for her sister. Marie goes along with the shopping and parties for a while, but then Wanda introduces Marie to her dance teacher, Pandora. Pandora and Marie hit it off. Pandora then introduces Marie to Greenwich Village and its many artists. Marie gets her inspiration back and is out all the time with her new friends. Marie then meets Franco de Lucca. Franco works for his father making and exporting wine (as well as sneaking people into the country). Franco and Marie fall in love. Marie forgets about her obligations to the family and the business.While Marie was in New York she let it slip to Wanda about her biological father, Thomas. Wanda had never been told about him. Wanda then sets out to learn everything she can about Germany and her family. Wanda is determined to go to Lauscha and when the family is short on help, she volunteers to go. Wanda arrives in Lauscha and immediately becomes sick (with bronchitis). Eventually, Wanda recovers and meets her biological father (and the rest of the family). While Steinmann-Maienbaum Workshop has been doing well, Thomas Heimer (and family) has not. Wanda wants to find a way to help their business. While finding new ideas Wanda meets Richard Stamme. Richard is trying to mix German glass making with Venetian glass techniques. Wanda falls in love with Richard and you know her mother is going to be upset.Franco is called back home to Genoa and the family business. Marie goes with him. Marie is excited to see Franco’s home and try some new glass ideas. Marie finds herself pregnant and living in a foreign country. Franco’s parents have not welcomed her and Franco is always working. Then Marie finds out something horrible and her life will never be the same again.I liked The American Lady, but did not love it. I loved The Glassblowers (the first book) and was really looking forward to The American Lady. The first part of the book focuses on Wanda and Marie. Marie is so different in this book. She becomes flighty and forgets about her family. Wanda is an unusual woman for her time. But I found her to be a contradiction. I give The American Lady 4 out of 5 stars.I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.