"One could never consider Rosnau anything but a deft explorer of the heart; she writes with passion, honesty and precision." - Globe & Mail
"Rosnau is one writer whose book lives up to the jacket hype... juicy, fresh, original, funny and rife with insight. " - Toronto Star
"Having Laisha as my trusted mentor has helped me, very quickly, make huge strides in my work." - Nicole Breit
“A haunting, sweeping story.” - Eden Robinson
BASED ON AN EXTRAORDINARY TRUE STORY: In the 1920s, the eccentric and royal Caetani family fled facism in Italy and emigrated to Vernon, BC—only to retreat from the outside world entirely. Charting the secrets and turmoil that create these mysterious circumstances, Rosnau shares a moving interrogation of isolation and belonging.
Moving from lavish Italian palaces to jazz era Paris, from bustling Cairo to rugged interior British Columbia, LITTLE FORTRESS is an atmospheric, absorbing international journey, vividly capturing 20th century upheaval as the age of nobility disintegrates and leaves the once-splendid Caetani family with only each other.
Untangling the complex ties between an agoraphobic duchess, her artistic daughter and their loyal secretary, Rosnau paints a fierce, nuanced portrait of the relationships between three women, illuminating how we are shaped and tested by class, power and love.
To order directly from publisher (recommended)
home office vibes
Laisha Rosnau is an award-winning poet and novelist, university lecturer, and advocate and champion of the role of arts and culture in healthy lives and communities. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and a Certificate in Narrative Therapy from the Vancouver School of Narrative Therapy.
Laisha is the Executive Director of the Caetani Cultural Centre, and teaches Creative Writing as an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus.
“I write a little every day, without hope, without despair.”
