Gaia Servadio

Gaia Cecilia M. Servadio[1](born 1938) is an Italian writer.

Gaia Servadio
Hosting After Dark on 11 March 1988
Born1938 (age 82–83)
Padua, Italy
OccupationWriter
Spouse(s)William Mostyn-Owen c. 1961—1989
ChildrenOwen (b. 1962), Allegra (b. 1964), Orlando (b. 1973)
RelativesBoris Johnson (former son-in-law)

Early life and career

Servadio was born in Padua, the daughter of Bianca Prinzi and Luxardo Servadio.[2] Her father was Jewish and her mother was Sicilian and Catholic.[3] She received a bachelor's degree from London's Camberwell School of Art.[2]

Her first novel Tanto gentile e tanto onesta, aka Melinda, was published in 1967 by Feltrinelli in Italy and Weidenfeld & Nicolson in the UK, and was a "a runaway success".[2]

Personal life

Servadio was married the British art historian William Mostyn-Owen c. 1961—1989, and they had three children, Owen (b. 1962), Allegra (b. 1964) and Orlando (b. 1973).[4] In 1968, they were living in "23 rooms or so" of one wing of Aberuchill Castle, Perthshire, Scotland.[5]

Their daughter Allegra, an art teacher, was the first wife of the politician Boris Johnson.[6] Their son Orlando is an artist and a painter.[7]

Servadio lives in Belgravia, London.[8]

Works

Fiction
  • Tanto gentile e tanto onesta (Feltrinelli, 1967)
  • Don Giovanni e L'azione consiste (Feltrinelli, 1968)
  • Un'infanzia diversa (Rizzoli, 1988)
  • Il lamento di Arianna (La Tartaruga, 1988)
  • La storia di R. (Rizzoli, 1990)
  • E i morti non sanno (Dario Flaccovio Ed., 2005)
  • Raccogliamo le vele - Autobiografia (Feltrinelli, 2014)

Non-fiction
  • Mafioso (Secker & Warburg, 1976)
  • Luchino Visconti (Mondadori, 1980)
  • La Donna del Rinascimento (Garzanti, 1986)
  • Traviata. Vita di Giuseppina Strepponi (Rizzoli, 1994)
  • Mozia. Alla scoperta di una civiltà scomparsa (Flaccovio Dario, 2003)
  • Scritti siriani dell'antichità: testi preclassici e classici (A cura di G.S.; Pisa e Roma, Fabrizio Serra editore, 2010)
  • Gioachino Rossini Una vita (Feltrinelli 2015)

References
  1. Burke's Landed Gentry 18th ed., vol. 2, ed. Peter Townend, 1969, p. 482
  2. Andrew and Suzanne Edwards (16 February 2013). "From Designer to Journalist: An Interview with Gaia Servadio". Times of Sicily. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  4. Humphrey Burton. "William Mostyn-Owen obituary | Education". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  5. LIFE. Time Inc. 7 June 1968. pp. 83–84. ISSN 0024-3019. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  6. Rachel Helyer-Donaldson (8 January 2010). "Boris Johnson's first wife marries again". Theweek.co.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  7. "Orlando Mostyn Owen | The Royal Drawing School". The Royal Drawing School. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  8. "Alain Elkann Interviews Gaia Servadio writer, historian and broadcaster". Alainelkanninterviews.com. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
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