Grenadian author, retired High Court Judge Rita Joseph-Olivetti will be in Antigua and Barbuda this weekend to launch her second novel, “What Emily Did Next”, which tells the story of the ill-fated lovers Emily and James from David Copperfield.
Joseph-Olivetti embarked on that work because she always felt that Dickens had short-changed his readers by whisking the lovers away to parts unknown and then only bringing them back separately. He left so many questions unanswered that Joseph-Olivetti had plenty of leeway to soar with Emily and James on their travels as she takes them not only to Europe, but also to a slave plantation in the Dutch West Indies.
Joseph-Olivetti is now retired from her profession as a High Court Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and thus has more time to devote to her love of literature, and is a self- published author.
Her first novel, “The Red Door” ,was published in 2018 by her company Ariposa Dreaming Inc. One of her short stories, “The Bite”, was included in a short story collection, “Plenty Gems”, published by a small group of independent authors in Trinidad and Tobago in 2022.
On April 12, the public is invited to stop by the Best of Books on Lower St Mary’s Street to sit, sip and chat with the author who is willing to autograph previously acquired copies of her first novel and to make available her new and old work. She will be at the bookstore from 1pm to 3 pm.
Joseph-Olivetti is engaged in writing her third novel with the working title “The Crying Land”, which is set in Panama. She resides in Grenada and takes a keen interest in social and environmental issues.
