The Red Silk Cord resulted from my trip to Florence in 2007 where I visited the Hospital of the Innocents and saw the trinkets left behind by loving mothers and fathers who had to leave their babies with the nuns because they could no longer care for them. I built the story around this idea and included the 15th Century historic truths of the time and the Medici family. The story tells the resilience of a young woman, her survival after being raped, giving birth and being persecuted by the baby's father's family. She is helped by a silk merchant and together they go on a journey along the maritime and land silk route to Xian China. They play a part in the discovery of the new and fastest route to China. The emotional and sexual growth of Margherita is explored via a variety of relationships until she eventually discovers what love is. This book is the first in a group of three books named The Red Silk Cord, The Return of the Red Silk Cord and the Revenge of The Red Silk Cord. It includes the Medici families plan to have their fourth son become Pope Leo XI. I sincerely enjoyed writing this book and hope you find it as enjoyable to read as it was for me to write it. Regards Liz Berger M. A. Soc. Sc.
