Elena Gianini Belotti is the author of several novels and nonfiction works, among them Dalla parte delle bambine (Feltrinelli, 1973), Prima le donne e i bambini (Rizzoli, 1980 and 1998), Il fiore dell'ibisco (Rizzoli, 1985), Amore e pregiudizio (Mondadori, 1988), Adagio un poco mosso (Feltrinelli, 1993), Pimpì oselì (Feltrinelli, 19 Read More 95), Apri le porte all'alba (Feltrinelli, 1999), and Voli (Feltrinelli, 2001). Her most recent book, Prima della quiete (Rizzoli, 2003), was awarded the Premio Grinzane Cavour, a prestigious Italian literary award now in its twenty-third year. "The Abandoned Garden" is the first of Belotti's work to appear in English.