Florence: Ordeal By Water

by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor

Firsthand account by an American author living in Florence at the time of the November 1966 devastating flood of the Arno River, and its aftermath.

Genres: Italy, Nonfiction, History, Memoir, Biography Memoir

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Born Kathrine Kressmann, she married Elliott Taylor in 1928. Her first and most famous book, "Address unknown", was initially published by Story magazine. As both the editor and her husband deemed the story "too strong to appear under the name of a woman", she took on the pseudonym Kressman Taylor, which she used for the rest of her professional life.

Reviews

[Susan Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this one in London because I recognized the author of the phenomenal Address Unknown, and was surprised to learn of its publisher, Manderley Press. I had no idea of the devastating flood that submerged Florence in 1966. I will definitely be looking for more Manderley Press titles!

[Kemy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I considered knocking out a star because surely, this is too simple a book to deserve the perfect mark. But then I realised this snobbism had no place here. If I find no fault there, why try looking for one? This moving account is historically precious, but also impeccably written. I found myself engrossed, horrified, moved, and yes, hopeful myself. I must confess my experience was certainly enhanced by the superb Manderley Press edition I read. I also credit the introduction (read after the fact, as usual. I have no patience for introductions beforehand!), anyway, I credit it then, for calling my attention to details I had neglected (like the Italian chapter titles) and thus enriching my post reading musings. It’s funny how I now carry a tenderness for the inhabitants of Florence I have never met; their resilience, and the overall poetry of their outlook on life. They felt real, endearing but never unnaturally picturesque. A great read.

[Mary Warnement · Rating 3 out of 5]

p. 41 "There is no arguing with an event one cannot control." Truer words never spoken and often about more than natural events like floods.

This is back on the shelf not because I did not find it worthy but other books demanded my attention ahead of Taylor's description of living in Florence during the 1966 flood. Her pension was right on the north bank of the Arno, so she had a front row seat. Not only did she go out and see the devastation, during and after, but she describes those staying and working in the hotel along with those she encounters in the midst of the clean up. I am tempted to look for a second-hand copy for myself, to have it on hand when I'm ready to finish her account. It doesn't hurt that the endpapers are a map of Florence, just the sort of graphics I love.

[Daniela Sorgente · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 1967 book is the story of the first four months after the Florence flood of November 4, 1966, written by a writer from the United States who lived in Florence in those years. The book describes in detail the first hours of that day and also everything that happened in the following days. Although I have heard stories about those days many times, I discovered things I didn't know, like the story of the 120 horses from the Cascine racecourse that were buried there and still lie there or the story about the enormous Befana stocking full of coal that was hung from a bridge on January 6, 1967 for the Arno who had been a bad boy. It also made me understand the concern and dismay of the Florentines, of Italy and of the whole world for the damage and loss of so many works of art.

[Janel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating little chronology of the great flood of 1966 in the city of Florence.

[Betty-Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. An account of the disastrous flood and destruction of Florence in 1966, written as events were unfolding.