Chicago's Headmistress — Loretta Giacoletto

Chicago's Headmistress was shortlisted for the 2014 "Soon to be Famous Illinois Author Project" and was also nominated for Best Historical Fiction at eFestival of Words. This novel about Prohibition and prostitution during the Roaring Twenties is a prequel and partial parallel to the Italian/American generational saga, The Family Angel, but can also be enjoyed as a stand-alone. Every story has more than one side and within a generational saga many stories link and overlap. Loretta Giacoletto tells this one from the perspective of two of The Family Angel's most intriguing characters. In the words of Ugo Sapone: "Never did I think I'd find myself involved in forward-thinking education. Never did I think I'd find myself involved in an illegal activity that has given so many people such joy. Yet, here I am, right hand man to Giulietta Bracca." Follow Giulietta Bracca's notorious rise to wealth and power, from street urchin in 1905 Genoa, Italy, to the headmistress of Night School, Prohibition Chicago's most popular and innovative men's club in the 1920s. Along the way Giulietta plays a deadly game of one-upmanship with men who use her, abuse her, and fall head-over-heels in love with her. This quick-study seductress soon learns to give as good as she gets and with only a few regrets--those so devastating they will haunt her into eternity. But there's one man Giulietta will never forget: the immigrant bootlegger she gave up too soon and will stop at nothing to lure him back, even if it means jeopardizing all she holds dear. A must-read for fans of The Family Angel, Family Deceptions, The Prohibition Era, and The Great Depression.