Brattleboro Literary Festival Literary Cocktail Hour

Set in Barre, Vermont, in 1903, “How Long a Shadow” follows Rosina Bottinelli, a young Italian immigrant seeking a life beyond marriage and domestic duty. As her father and brothers work in the granite sheds, dangerous stone dust, labor unrest, and divided family loyalties threaten their community. Rosina’s apprenticeship as a midwife and her growing political awakening bring questions of independence, love, and responsibility into sharp focus.

Ossola’s connection to the story is personal: she is a second-generation Italian American and a descendant of Barre’s stonecutters. A photograph of previously unknown relatives sparked the genealogical research that helped inspire the novel. Her research also included studying historical maps and photographs and walking Barre’s neighborhoods to imagine the city as it was at the turn of the twentieth century.