Books by Andrea Fuchs Petzi
The books are presented below alphabetically by literary grouping rather than chronology, reflecting the internal logic of the work.
La Ronde: A Novel
Genre: Literary Fiction
La Ronde—“the round dance”—follows five women and five men through a circle of desire, ambition, and unequal affection.
In New York, Aurelia hopes a wealthy financier’s attention might become love. An introduction draws another woman into his orbit, beginning a chain of encounters that reaches from a restaurant kitchen to a California parish, political circles, and a writer’s apartment. Each person turns toward someone new, seeking recognition, security, pleasure, or power—and often leaving another person waiting.
Inspired by Arthur Schnitzler’s Reigen, Andrea Fuchs Petzi brings warmth, sensuality, and dry humor to a novel about the expectations women inherit and the compromises people make to feel wanted.
The dance returns to its beginning. Can anyone change the next step? ... Learn more
I Historical Fiction
BETWEEN EMPIRES: A Novel of Constantinople and Trieste
Genre: Historical Fiction · Family · Coming of Age.
Born in Trieste and raised in Constantinople, Oliviero Petzmann grows up among steamships, crowded markets, and the languages of a cosmopolitan city. War and changing borders test his family’s resilience, while engines offer him a future. Inspired by family recollections, Between Empires is a historical novel of belonging, resourcefulness, and the unexpected humor of ordinary life.... Learn more
CARLOTA: A Novel
Genre: Historical Fiction
Carlota (Second ed.) is a historical novel that traces the rise and tragic unraveling of Carlota of Belgium, whose imperial dreams at Miramare collide with exile, loss, and the brutal realities of power... Learn more
GUTENBERG: The Work of Books
Genre: Historical Fiction
Gutenberg: The Work of Books is a historical novel that portrays Johannes Gutenberg as a daring innovator who defied tradition and power, igniting a revolution that transformed knowledge, culture, and the modern world...Learn more
THE LIGHT THAT CARRIES: A Novel of Hildegard of Bingen
Genre: Historical Fiction
The Light That Carries is a historical novel that portrays Hildegard of Bingen as a visionary thinker and fearless woman whose faith, intellect, and creativity illuminated a darkening medieval world... Learn more
THE MEASURE OF EMPATHY: A Novel of Edith Stein
Genre: Historical Fiction
The Measure of Empathy is a historical novel tracing Edith Stein’s path from brilliant Jewish philosopher to Carmelite nun and martyr, exploring faith, conscience, and moral courage in the face of twentieth-century tyranny... Learn more
THE ROSE OF LIMA: The First Saint of the Americas
Genre: Historical Fiction
The Rose of Lima: The First Saint of the Americas is a historical novel that vividly reimagines the life of Rose of Lima, whose radical faith, compassion, and quiet resistance reshaped sanctity in the New World... Learn more
THE SEAT OF COURAGE: Rosa Parks and the Birth of a Movement
Genre: Historical Fiction
TORNIAMO: The Last Journey of Johann Joachim Winckelmann
Genre: Historical Fiction
Torniamo: The Last Journey of Johann Joachim Winckelmann is a richly imagined historical novel that brings to life the extraordinary journey of Johann Joachim Winckelmann, the father of art history and archaeology, whose lifelong pursuit of beauty culminated in a mysterious and tragic death in Trieste in 1768...Learn more
II Contemporary Fiction
THE COMMANDMENTS OF ELZIE McGILLICUDDY
Genre: Literary Fiction
The Commandments of Elzie McGillicuddy follows an elderly Polish immigrant whose family is thrown into turmoil by the temptations of sudden wealth. As loyalties fracture and long-buried conflicts emerge, Elzie turns to the Ten Commandments—not as rigid laws, but as a living moral compass for an increasingly bewildering world. Both humorous and deeply humane, the novel explores faith, family, forgiveness, and ... Learn more
THE HUMMINGBIRD
Genre: Literary Fiction
The Hummingbird is a lyrical novel about recovery and resilience, in which a woman’s convalescence becomes a meditation on friendship, shared courage, and the quiet grace that endures in the presence of illness and uncertainty... Learn more
THE ITALIAN CLASS
Genre: Literary Fiction
The Italian Class is a warm, suspenseful novel about friendship discovered late in life and courage awakened where it is least expected... Learn more
LA RONDE
Genre: Literary Fiction
Five women. Five men. Ten lives joined by desire, ambition, and the longing to matter to someone. Aurelia arrives in New York with a troublesome suitcase, dwindling savings, and photographs that make her life look enviable. When a wealthy financier takes an interest in her, she hopes his attention might become affection. An introduction she eventually makes begins ... Learn more
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THE OAK TREE
Genre: Literary Fiction
The Oak Tree is a quietly powerful novel about a family on the brink, where fleeting allure and easy escapes are weighed against endurance, responsibility, and the slow, unseen work of choosing what truly lasts... Learn more
A SCHOOL FOR THE WORLD
Genre: Literary Fiction
A School for the World is a gentle, inspiring novel about renewal and perseverance, following a university lecturer who creates a language school from a single classroom and, through patience, care, and faith in human connection, builds a lasting place where cultures meet and lives are changed... Learn more
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THE STAIRCASE
Genre: Literary Fiction
When Victoria inherits a house in Regensburg, she uncovers the buried history of a Jewish family dispossessed during the Nazi years—and her own family’s role in their loss. Moving between 1930s Germany and 1990, The Staircase explores inheritance, complicity, and the courage to confront what others chose to forget.... Learn more
THE TRANSFORMATION OF MARTHA LELAND
Genre: Literary Fiction
The Transformation of Martha Leland is a haunting, philosophical novel in which a solitary retired librarian is drawn into a storytelling program that mirrors her own life, tempting her to rewrite her past and ultimately to dissolve the boundary between author and self, until reinvention becomes both liberation and disappearance... Learn more
THE TWO LIVES OF WILLIAM NIEMAND
Genre: Literary Fiction
The Two Lives of William Niemand follows a scarred English teacher in Los Angeles whose carefully isolated life is undone by memory, loss, and quiet miracles, leading him toward family, faith, and the courage to begin again... Learn more
WHAT THE LIVING NEED
Genre: Literary Fiction
What the Living Need is an epic, cross-cultural novel that follows the enduring power of oaths, curses, and blessings across centuries, revealing how words spoken long ago shape destinies—and how language itself may offer the only path to release... Learn more
III Family Sagas
THE DISTANCE BETWEEN SISTERS
Genre: Literary Fiction
The Distance Between Sisters is a family saga that traces the intertwined lives of women bound by blood and choice, exploring loyalty, rivalry, and the enduring strength of sisterhood across generations... Learn more
THE DRAGONS UNDER THE SKIN
Genre: Literary Fiction
The Dragons under the Skin is a European novel set in the aftermath of the Second World War, exploring buried trauma, racial tensions, and the unspoken legacies of guilt and survival that shape lives long after the fighting ends...Learn more
FORGET ME NOT
Genre: Literary Fiction
Forget Me Not is a sweeping family saga that follows generations bound by love, memory, and resilience, revealing how ordinary lives endure and transform amid the upheavals of history... Learn more
IV Children's Books
THE ADVENTURES OF DANNY THE BUTTERFLY
Follow Danny, a curious young monarch butterfly, and his friends through five beautifully illustrated adventures—from a magical garden to the bustling city and home again. Along the way, they discover courage, practice kindness, and learn how much friends can accomplish together. Filled with wonder and playful characters, this series invites children ages 6–9 to explore the big possibilities of a small world.
Book 1 — WINGS OF COURAGE
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Fantasy Adventure | Ages 6–9
Danny’s days are filled with sweet nectar, lively races, and adventures with his dragonfly friend, Blue Dash. But when Betty, a pink butterfly, disappears, their familiar garden becomes a place of hidden dangers. To bring her home, Danny must find his courage—and discover what friends can accomplish together... Learn more
Book 2 — THE GARDEN OF WISDOM
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Fantasy Adventure | Ages 6–9
A whispering rose and a glittering silver trail lead Danny, Betty, and Blue Dash into new corners of the garden. Encounters with a patient snail, a shy cricket, and other neighbors offer unexpected lessons. When a storm unsettles the pond, Danny must put what he has learned into practice... Learn more
Book 3 — WINGS OF HOPE
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Fantasy Adventure | Ages 6–9
Changing weather brings Danny and his parents home before their journey has properly begun. Back in the garden, a girl at a window, forest friends, and glowing fireflies open Danny’s eyes to new ways of helping. Even a small butterfly can brighten someone’s day—and keeping a promise can make a difference... Learn more
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Book 4 — WINGS OF DEFIANCE
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Fantasy Adventure | Ages 6–9
Carried away inside a red rose, Danny finds himself alone in a noisy, unfamiliar city. A scruffy dog and a lonely woman offer kindness, but the mysterious Skull Queen has other plans. To escape her alley and find his way home, Danny must speak up, trust new friends, and stand his ground... Learn more
Book 5 — RETURN TO THE GARDEN
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Fantasy Adventure | Ages 6–9
Home again, Danny discovers that his beloved garden still holds secret doors and shimmering night paths. With Betty and Blue Dash, he visits a palace woven from dew, explores an ocean cove, and enters a changing silver maze. When a frightened little caterpillar needs help, Danny finds a chance to share what his adventures have taught him... Learn more
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V Poetry & Short Stories
THE BETWEEN DAYS
Genre: Poetry
The Between Days is an intimate poetry collection of mostly sonnets and a few free verses, gathering a lifetime of quiet moments, playful rhythms, and sincere reflections into a gentle record of joy, sorrow, and love lived between ordinary days... Learn more
HEARTBEATS AND OTHER LESSONS: Short Stories
Genre: Literary Fiction
Heartbeats and Other Lessons is a collection of short stories set in 1960s and 1970s Germany, capturing a generation coming of age amid social change, emotional awakening, and the quiet reckoning with a turbulent past...Learn more