A Single Witness, Christine Balint (9781922964342) — Readings Books
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A Single Witness
Paperback

A Single Witness

Christine Balint
$34.95
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It is 1756. In a mountain village outside Venice, 13-year-old Anna Maria Bonon lives with her grandmother and her father, Giacomo. In the daytime, she cards wool at the local mill. At home, she raises silk worms. Giacomo is one of the forestieri (outsiders) in the community, scrambling for work, drinking his sorrows away at the osteria, stealing by the cover of night. When he is arrested for attempted murder, Anna Maria discovers her voice and the courage to tell her story. She walks 29 kilometres to Vicenza and accuses him of rape. The Council of Ten arrive from Venice to investigate.

Challenged by her grandmother and the priest, Anna Maria is torn between loyalty to her elders and telling her truth. She must decide whether to affirm her original story or deny it. Will she choose her own safety and justice over the survival of her family?

Drawing closely on original trial documents from the Venetian archives, prize-winning novelist Christine Balint brings to life a court case unique for its time, with important echoes to the present day.

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Format
Paperback
Publisher
Spinifex Press
Country
Australia
Date
1 May 2026
Pages
324
ISBN
9781922964342

It is 1756. In a mountain village outside Venice, 13-year-old Anna Maria Bonon lives with her grandmother and her father, Giacomo. In the daytime, she cards wool at the local mill. At home, she raises silk worms. Giacomo is one of the forestieri (outsiders) in the community, scrambling for work, drinking his sorrows away at the osteria, stealing by the cover of night. When he is arrested for attempted murder, Anna Maria discovers her voice and the courage to tell her story. She walks 29 kilometres to Vicenza and accuses him of rape. The Council of Ten arrive from Venice to investigate.

Challenged by her grandmother and the priest, Anna Maria is torn between loyalty to her elders and telling her truth. She must decide whether to affirm her original story or deny it. Will she choose her own safety and justice over the survival of her family?

Drawing closely on original trial documents from the Venetian archives, prize-winning novelist Christine Balint brings to life a court case unique for its time, with important echoes to the present day.

Read More
Format
Paperback
Publisher
Spinifex Press
Country
Australia
Date
1 May 2026
Pages
324
ISBN
9781922964342

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A Single Witness by Christine Balint
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