Daphne: An Autumn Pastoral

"Daphne: An Autumn Pastoral" by Margaret Pollock Sherwood is a story set in Italy about a young American woman named Daphne Willis as she interacts with a new culture and struggles to communicate with the local Italian people to find her place in the beauty of the Italian countryside. As readers are introduced to Daphne, she is using her limited Italian to converse with Giacomo, the villa’s butler, and Assunta, his wife. As she explores the beautiful areas around the Villa Accolanti, she is captured by the beauty of the Italian countryside; however, she is initially lonely and faces challenges with language barriers, creating an expectation of an emotional journey as she interacts with the land, its people, and possibly a mysterious shepherd. The book introduces themes of identity, cultural differences, and the search for belonging in a rich and interesting setting.