Francesca Giannone

The Profile

Author of La portalettere, a novel set starting in 1934 in Salento focused on a woman postman, described in reviews as inspired by Giannone's great-grandmother; La portalettere is noted in the reviews as Premio Bancarella 2023.

La portalettere follows Anna Allavena, a northern woman who becomes the first female postwoman in a small Salento town in 1934. The book is praised for its engaging, heartfelt storytelling and its focus on female emancipation. Criticisms note occasional anachronistic character behaviour, limited context for Anna's past, and a hurried treatment of the wartime years. Overall the review sees it as a good, emotionally effective read with some structural and historical weaknesses.