Beautiful Rienzi; or, The secret vendetta

Beautiful Rienzi; or, The Secret Vendetta *The Select Series*, no. 40 (May 14, 1890). Street & Smith, New York. Featured story: "Beautiful Rienzi; or, The Secret Vendetta" by Annie Ashmore (also author of "The Bride Elect"). Genre: Romantic melodrama. Plot: Ivanilla Rienzi, a eighteen-year-old orphaned Italian girl raised by her grandmother in Venice, travels to New York in October 1862 to live with her father (a sculptor-architect) and meet her unknown elder sister, Isolina. Ivanilla is captivated by Isolina's exceptional beauty and becomes intensely devoted to her. Though Isolina returns her affection, Ivanilla senses hidden depths and concealed emotions—mysterious silences, wistful sighs, and guardedness. An unidentified gentleman caller arrives at the family's mansion, causing Isolina visible distress; she reacts with concealed turmoil rather than pleasure to his visit, suggesting a troubling secret in her past.