Etruscan Evenings lies in the sensuous curvature of ancient and present day Italy. The sequel to Cairo Diary: an Egyptian fable, follows the life of anthropologist Dr. Justine Jenner after she is expelled from Egypt in the wake of discovering and making public the controversial diary of the Virgin Mary. Exiled into Tuscany, Jenner finds herself embroiled in three interwoven stories of discovery: the long-lost letters from D.H. Lawrence to her great-grandmother, Isabella; an Etruscan tomb revealing the origin and migration of an ancient people predating Rome; and the genealogy of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. While shaken by the frank revelations in Lawrence's letters and the intimate relationship between the primeval Etruscans and Jesus' mother, Jenner must confront her own sexuality and yearning for personal freedom. The second in a trilogy, Etruscan Evenings is riveted with literary, religious and archeological history and international politics, each narrative magnifying and altering the meaning of the others. A quarter century ago, while visiting Italy for the first time, author Linda Lambert came upon D.H. Lawrence's Etruscan Places, and the story of Etruscan Evenings began to take form in her mind. Returning years later to follow the Etruscan city states described by Lawrence, she was accompanied this time by the discoveries in the diary of the Virgin Mary made public in Cairo Diary: an Egyptian fable, discoveries that merge with the history of the Etruscans and Italy itself.
Dr. Linda Lambert is an internationally recognized lecturer, historian, and author in the field of leadership. Feminist and historical themes characterize many of her best-selling leadership books, ideas that take center stage in her novels as well. Linda is Professor Emeritus at California State University, East Bay, and lives at The Sea Ranch, California, with her husband, Morgan Lambert.
