Monday, April 01, 2013

Queen of the Big Time by Adriana Trigiani (2004); Author To Speak In Scranton Thursday, April 18th

Bestselling author Adriana Trigiani will be the first speaker in the 2013 Matthew F. Flynn Library Lecture Series on Thursday, April 18th at 7 PM at the Scranton Cultural Center.  Tickets are free with your library card and are available at all member libraries in the Lackawanna County Library System.

Her novel Queen of the Big Time is set in Roseto, Pennsylvania (Northampton County) and tells the decade spanning story of a Italian-American farming family.  Middle daughter Nella dreams of becoming a teacher, but circumstances in her life take her on a different path.

The novel features numerous references to Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton; however, the novel also includes references to a university in our neck of the woods as well:

P. 217: 'She (Celeste, Nella's daughter) is far too young to get married, I think, but this is her choice.  She was in her first year of college at Marywood and decided it wasn't for her."

p. 218: "'Mom, this isn't about what you had, this is about me.  You were never there, which is why I left Marywood."

Also of note is the film makes a passing reference to the 1931 Pre-Code Joan Crawford film Dance Fools Dance, which revolves around the murder of a reporter named Bert Scranton.

Click here to place a hold.

Check out the video below, which is an except from a hilarious lecture Adriana Trigiani gave in March 2010 at Palm Beach County Library.  At the 3:42 spot, Trigiani discusses a hilarious exchange with her best friend, Scranton native Michael Patrick King (Sex and the City), regarding the naming of her child.