Elizabeth Street

By: Laurie Fabiano

Narrated by: Angela Dawe

Based on true events, Elizabeth Street is a multigenerational saga that opens in an Italian village in the 1900s, and crosses the ocean to New York's Lower East Side. At the heart of the novel is Giovanna, whose family is targeted by the notorious Black Hand -the precursor to the Mafia.

Elizabeth Street brings to light a period in history when Italian immigrant neighborhoods lived in fear of Black Hand extortion and violence - a reality that defies the romanticized depiction of the Mafia. Here, the author reveals the merciless terror of the Black Hand and the impact their crimes had on her family. Giovanna is based on Fabiano's great-grandmother, and the book's heroes and villains - such as Lieutenant Petrosino, the crusading cop and "Lupo the Wolf", a cold-blooded criminal - are drawn from real life in this thrilling tale.

While set in a dynamic historical context, Elizabeth Street is, above all, the dramatic story of the heroine Giovanna and how she triumphed over tragedy.

©2010 Laurie Fabiano (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A fascinating account… that is at once inspiring and terrifying. Laurie Fabiano has turned her family's experience into a riveting tale." (Tom Brokaw)

Very touching

This story was very moving and emotional for the history of the Italians. I'm glad I read this book.

Oh, the stories on an Italian family

This book hit home for stories told by my Grandmother. I wasn't prepared to like it, but I loved it. The characters were well developed, believable and so realistic. The story was so engaging that I didn't want it to end. the performance was superb.

Got me from the start!

I love time period pieces and this was and exceptional one! Aside from the narrative being very robotic at times, the story was great and inspiring to hope on a plane and visit the places she wrote about in NYC. I could read about this forever.

Worst. Narrator. Ever.

Ok story but the narrator sounds like a computer generator reader. The Italian was not even close. Someone should have done at least some research on how to pronounce the Italian words.

This is a wonderful book!

This was a great historical book I found the details to be amazing and thoroughly enjoyed it!

Totally enthralled. Elizabeth street

The story was a 4.5 as the chronology occasionally hard to follow. The narration was a 5. I'd give the rural score 4,75

Excellent History of common man

Great story of historical events in S Italy & NYC. Makes me realize how so many of our ancestors paved the way for us w/backbreaking work & fortitude.

Excellent

Denise Linsday

Wonderful real life story of heartbreak and triumph this Italian family endured coming to America. Helped me visualize what my grandparents experience when they came from Palermo at the turn of the century.

Authentic story about immigrants – enjoyable!

I enjoyed the story about immigrants to America with the same surname as me… The narrator was not fabulous, often sounding robotic… But she got better near the end of the story. Many of the details were very authentic and brought back memories from my childhood. The story took place at the same time my grandparents and great grandparents came to America and many of the things reference here or things that I heard about their immigration story. I really enjoy stories about this time period and the subject because it hits close to home. The author did a good job

Learning about some of our history

This story seemed to drag on too long; but was informative at the same time. I had never heard of The Black Hand and how cruel the Italians were treated by them.