The Gentlemen of Verona

Hilarious or naughty, sometimes wrenchingly sad�in the gorgeous stories in The Gentlemen of Verona: 20 Stories for Grownups, Marina Brown again dazzles with her imagination and ability to illuminate those moments when life turns on a dime.

�Marina Brown�s The Gentlemen of Verona, is a masterful collection of short stories you won�t be able to put down. These tales again demonstrate Brown�s tremendous range of subjects and styles�filled with sprinkles of magical realism, heart-wrenching pathos, occasional spoofs of famous figures, and surprise endings that would do O�Henry proud!�

�Donna Meredith, author of Margaret: The Rose of Goodwood and Buried Seeds

With a hint of Kafka or a touch of Marquez, but always painted in words that sparkle like gems, Brown�s characters, be they saints, artists, pigs, or the pope, make us laugh, weep, root for underdogs, and generally embrace our human condition. �That is the essence of the short story,� says Brown. �Short stories have all the attributes of a novel, character, motivation, plot, and frequently a denouement that catches us completely off-guard. Short stories give us all the joy of a novel, but do it quickly and often more intensely.�

�Reading this collection, I�m left in awe of Marina Brown�s ability to create intriguing scenarios, make observations about our times, and construct stories with casts of characters who reflect our own inner thoughts. With her remarkable knowledge of art, music, medicine, human relationships, and world travels, this rich collection of stories will leave every reader wanting more!�

�Mary Ann Lindley, former newspaper columnist and editor of the Tallahassee Democrat

Brown�s first collection of adult short stories, When Women Danced With Trees (2021) won the Florida Authors and Publishers (FAPA) Gold Medal. Her third novel, The Orphan of Pitigliano, set in Italy during World War II, won the Florida Writers Association�s Gold Medal and 2020 Book of the Year. Lizbeth, (2017) a novel of the Deep South during Jim Crow, won a Gold Medal from FAPA, and her debut novel, Land Without Mirrors (2013) also won a FAPA Gold Medal.

Read less