Brewer of Preston

The NewYork Times bestselling authorof the Inspector Montalbano series brings us back to Vigata in the nineteenthcentury for a rip-roaring comic novel.1870s, Sicily. Muchto the displeasure of Vigata's stubborn populace, the town has just beenunified under the Kingdom of Italy. They're now in the hands of a newgovernment they don't understand and definitely don't like. EugenioBortuzzi has been named prefect for Vigata, a regional representative from theItalian government to oversee the town. But the rowdy and unruly Siciliansdon't care much for this rather pompous mainlander nor the mediocre opera he'shell-bent on producing in their new municipal theater. The Brewer ofPreston, it'scalled, and the Vigatese are revving up to wreak havoc on the performance'sopening night.