On Wednesday, 23 March, a mesmerizing book titled The Embroiderer, will be launched at the Greek Centre, as part of the Greek Community of Melbourne’s seminar series of Greek History and Culture. The Embroiderer is a story of courage and despair in a world where superstition simmers just below the surface.

Set against the backdrop of the mosques and minarets of Asia Minor and the classical ruins of ancient Athens, The Embroiderer is a sweeping family saga spanning several generations. Offering a fascinating insight into a forgotten world, it is a story of love and loss, hope and despair, and of the extraordinary courage of women in the face of adversity.

The story unfolds when Englishwoman, Eleni Stephenson, is called to the bedside of her dying aunt in Athens in September, 1972. In a story that rips her world apart, Eleni discovers the chilling truth behind her family’s dark past, plunging her into the sensuous and evocative world of Orientalist art and Ottoman fashion, to the destructive forces of political intrigue, secret societies and espionage where families and friends are torn apart and where a belief in fate and superstition simmers just below the surface.

Kathryn Gauci was born in Leicestershire, England, and studied textile design at Loughborough College of Art and later at Kidderminster College of Art and Design where she specialised in carpet design and technology. After graduating, Kathryn spent a year in Vienna, Austria before moving to Greece where she worked as a carpet designer in Athens for six years. There followed another brief period in New Zealand before eventually settling in Melbourne, Australia.

Before turning to writing full-time, Kathryn ran her own textile design studio in Melbourne for over fifteen years, work which she enjoyed tremendously as it allowed her the luxury of travelling worldwide, often taking her off the beaten track and exploring other cultures. The Embroiderer is her first novel; a culmination of those wonderful years of design and travel, and especially of those glorious years in her youth living and working in Greece – a place that she is proud to call her spiritual home. More info about the author and the book at her website: http://www.kathryngauci.com/about-the-author/

When: Wednesday, 23 March 2016, στις 7:00pm
Where: Greek Centre (Mezzanine – 168 Lonsdale St, Melbourne)