Gateway Women’s Club
Donna Marchetti, Janice Eaton, Fran Yungher, Laurel Borgia, and Leyna Hoffer
Award-winning Florida author Marty Ambrose captivated Gateway Women’s Club members as she shared the inspiration behind her newest historical novel, The Lost Dresses of Italy. Marty Ambrose admits she has been a writer for most of her life and has always been absorbed by the world of literature. She teaches English, creative writing, and 19th-century British literature at Florida Southwestern State College. Ambrose is also a historical fiction and mystery writer. During her nearly fifteen-year professional writing career, she has published eight novels. She believes everyone has a story to tell. When traveling in Italy, Ambrose was inspired to write her latest novel, The Lost Dresses of Italy. This story is full of intrigue, fashion, art, and passion. Kirkus Reviews summarized The Lost Dresses of Italy as a story about a 19th-century poet and a 20th-century fashion curator, both creative women, whose lives intertwine in this mix of fact and fiction. While this novel’s two engaging storylines take place in different time periods, the similarities between Marianne and Christina enrich both narratives as each woman confronts threats, danger, and violence during her travels.
Marty Ambrose is an award-winning author. The Lost Dresses of Italy recently won a gold medal for historical fiction with the Florida Writers Association. Ambrose is also the winner of the 2024 Florida Writers Association Literary Palm Gold Medal in Historical Fiction and runner-up for FWA Best Published Book of the Year. Her new novel, The Secret Diary of Rome will be published by Joffe Books in early fall 2026.
Ambrose commented, “As a writer, I have been committed to passing on my love of literature through my teaching. Truly, it is an inspiration to see my students grasp the meaning of a poem or convey an interpretation of a story through one of their own essays. It gives me a feeling of being a conduit through which literature moves from one generation to the next. The names and faces may change, but I never forget those moments of thought and reflection in the classroom. And when my students begin to master telling their own stories, I am filled with satisfaction. Writing and teaching are two of the greatest joys in the world.”
Members left inspired by Marty Ambrose’s passion for literature, history, and storytelling, with a renewed appreciation for the power of a great story.
