In an unexpected twist that fans of one-handed reads are unlikely to have had on their Bingo cards, E. Jean Carroll is partnering with Mary Trump and law professor Jennifer Taub on a serialized romance novel titled "The Italian Lesson."
The first installment of the novel hit Substack on Friday and introduces the story of "an American woman with a secret past who tries to reinvent herself in Tuscany, where she opens a cafe and meets a handsome local vineyard owner," per The New York Times.
A report from The Advocate on the collaboration details that the three women "became friends in a knitting circle over Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic," and landed on the idea for the novel after initial plans for writing a screenplay together didn't pan out.
Carroll, Trump and Taub express the hope of finding a publisher for their novel once it's finalized, but for now they're content with piecing it out on Substack, where they all maintain their own newsletters.
The writers state that the book's installments will be free for three weeks, after which time a paid subscription will be required to read further. Knitting patterns and recipes for Italian meals will be included with the price of the subscription, and Carroll promises "a no-politics zone," meaning that readers won't have to worry about Donald's name popping up.
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In May, Carroll won a civil case against Trump for sexual abuse and battery, which the former president continues to rail against.
In a recent report by The New Republic, it's detailed that a "Trump ally" sought the dismissal of one of Carroll's defamation lawsuits "on the grounds that he is being treated unfairly for being a 'white Christian.'
Prior to the writing of "The Italian Lesson," Carroll worked for many years as a columnist and famously released a memoir in 2019 titled, "What Do We Need Men For?" in which she goes into detail about Trump raping her in the '90s.
Mary Trump, Donald's niece, released a book in 2021 titled, "The Reckoning: Our Nation's Trauma and Finding a Way to Heal."
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