June 1, 2023, 11:10am
I didn’t see it coming, but I’m open to it: E. Jean Carroll announced today in her Substack, post-legal victory over Donald Trump in her civil sexual abuse case, that she is writing a serialized romance novel with Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, on Substack. It will be a bit of an Under the Tuscan Sun affair, by the sounds. Only on Substack.
The New York Times scooped it, revealing that The Italian Lesson will be:
a romance novel about 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.
It will be free of politics, with silk scarves and neutral linens blowing on a cool breeze where the partisan bloviating would otherwise be. I can also report that it will be lightly erotic:
During their Zoom interview with the Times, Trump, a clinical psychologist as well as author, and Carroll disagreed about whether the novel could accurately be described as “erotic.”
“This is not soft-core pornography,” Trump said.
“Let’s wait,” Carroll countered.
“I don’t have it in me,” Trump demurred.
“Mary, you do,” Carroll insisted.
Carroll then tried to settle the question: “I think we are going to have some very delicious scenes, as only Mary can describe them, so they’re going to be a little weird, but trust me, there are going to be some erotic scenes.”
They’re both steely, generous writers, and so we shall allow it. Sign up here to receive the first installment on Friday, June 2.