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Poinsettia Girl: The Story of Agata della Pieta
By Jennifer Wizbowski
By Jennifer Wizbowski
Publication Date: 18th October 2025
Publisher: Historium Press
Page Length: 282
Genre: Historical Fiction
Venice, 1710, Poinsettia Girl is based on the story of Agata de la Pieta, an orphan musician of the Ospedale de la Pieta.
Ten-year-old Agata's world is shaken at the sudden death of her mother. Left only with her egregious father, a working musician in Venice, her ailing grandmother sends her to the well-known orphanage, hidden from everything she's ever known. Agata auditions for the conservatory style music school where music is both salvation and spectacle. Hidden behind ornate metal grates, adorned with poinsettias in their hair, the singers are veiled in mystery, their ethereal music drawing noble audiences, including gilded young men who see them as treasures-not only for their sound but as coveted marriage prizes. Just as she reaches the height of her musical journey, a marriage proposal from someone outside the audience tempts her with the promise of a new life-a return to the old neighborhood she's longed for and a home she barely remembers. Torn between the music that has defined her and the hope of belonging to a family, Agata must confront the most profound question of her life: is her purpose rooted in the music that shaped her, or in the love that might free her?
Praise
“Poinsettia Girl: The Story of Agata della Pieta” by Jennifer Wizbowski is a profoundly moving book that weaves together themes of love, loss, and the transformative power of music.
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Poinsettia Girl: The Story of Agata della Pieta
Jennifer Wizbowski
Jennifer Wizbowski spent her childhood days lost among the spines of her favorite books. Inspired by the daffodil fields of Wordsworth and the babbling brooks of Shakespeare, she earned her bachelor’s in English literature, a minor in music, and a secondary teaching credential, then wrote freelance for local business journals, taught in classrooms, and authored a Teen and Tween column for a parent magazine—all while raising her family.
As those years ended, she knew it was the right time to pursue her lifelong aspiration of bringing her own books to life. She now devotes herself to illuminating everyday women’s stories often lost in the shadows of history, revealing how they became heroines of their own time and place.
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This sounds absolutely beautiful. I’ve added it to my reading list and can’t wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds absolutely beautiful — I love historical fiction that brings real people and places to life! The story of Agata at the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice is so intriguing, especially with the music and how the girls performed behind those metal grates. I’m curious how much of Agata’s life and the orphanage life in the book reflects real history — was it based closely on what really happened at the Pietà, or more inspired by it? Either way, I’m definitely adding this one to my TBR!
ReplyDeleteI’m really curious — what was the spark that first inspired you to write Poinsettia Girl? Was it discovering Agata herself, the history of the Ospedale della Pietà, or something more personal that connected you to her story? I’d love to know what drew you into this world and kept you writing it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this — it’s a fascinating premise.