The True Story of Iris Origo

by Avery Reed

by Avery Reed

for Claire, may you always know you belong.

This is a work of creative nonfiction. Some parts have been fictionalized in varying degrees, for various purposes.

Copyright © 2022 by Katherine Avery Reed All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

First hardcover edition June 2022 Book design by Katherine Avery Reed • Set in Baskerville Artwork was made using pencil, ink, and digital.

Published by Katherine Avery Reed www.averyreedstudio.com

Late one rainy night,

we, seven strangers, arrived sleepy and cold and scared.

With warm soup, a burning stove, and dolls to hug, she welcomed us in.

But even with her bright, kind smile and big, comfortable beds, we cried ourselves to sleep.

We missed our brothers and sisters.

We missed our mamas and papas.

We wondered if we’d ever be home again.

In the morning we came down to breakfast.

He’ll save us! the radio man boomed.

War will not come!

Quickly, she turned it off.

Let’s go blackberrying, she smiled.

More of us arrived. Life on the farm helped us forget.

About the war.

About our homes destroyed by bombs.

About the constant ache in our hearts.

We helped her weed and water the garden.

The vegetables will be here soon, she said.

We helped harvest and prepare the meals.

The war seemed very far away.

Yet each night, we dreamt of home.

We learned to make sausage. We learned to milk cows.

We went to school and practiced our reading and writing.

The war still seemed far away.

Each night, we dreamt of home.

Winter came.

Food became simpler.

Warm clothes were hard to find.

More and more people came to her for help.

The war did not seem so very far away.

And each night, we dreamt of home.

The nights were bitterly cold. Many had to leave their homes like us.

Old and young alike lived in fear of the soldiers.

We brought food and clothes and maps to those hiding in the woods.

We sang songs to cheer them.

But soon, war came to the farm.

Leave, the soldiers said.

We grabbed our coats, our hats, our favorite dolls.

We took one another’s hand for comfort...

and we walked away from the place that had become our peace.

Down the road we went.

We stayed in the center of the lane for fear of what the soldiers had buried along the sides.

Planes flew low overhead.

We ducked for cover.

It was hot and we were thirsty.

We stumbled in exhaustion. But it was dangerous to stop.

She looked into our eyes, told us to be brave, then led us steadily on.

After many hours, we came to the bottom of a hill. At the top was the town in which we hoped to find refuge.

Let us rest a minute, she said.

But then, we heard a rumble.

Footsteps getting louder and louder.

We looked up, afraid of who it might be.

Welcome! Welcome! they cried.

You made it! Let us help you!

We recognized people we had helped in the woods. They had also come to this town looking for safety. They scooped us up, carried us to the top of the hill.

They fed us warm bread and cheese, spread out mattresses for us, comforted us with news from afar.

The war is ending, they said.

We curled up to sleep. Again, we dreamed of our homes, our brothers and sisters, our mamas and papas.

We were far from home, far from our families.

But tonight, we were safe and warm and hopeful that we would return to them soon.

This story really happened.

In 1943, the world was at war. Homes were being destroyed; families separated; people killed. It was a sad and scary time.

But even so, people chose to be brave and strong and to help each other. One woman named Iris Origo had a big, beautiful villa in the Italian countryside and a big, beautiful heart. She disagreed with the war and wanted to help those displaced by it.

Iris took in seven children whose homes had been destroyed by bombs. She took such good care of them that their mothers and fathers begged her to take in their siblings too. Soon, Iris had twenty-three children living on her farm. La Fattoria tells the story of how they faced the war together.

Throughout the war, anyone who knocked on Iris’s door was met with food, maps, clothing, shelter, and songs to cheer their sadness. Iris’s home was a haven for many and her bravery and kindness a light in the midst of deep darkness.

Bibliography Moorehead, Caroline. Iris Origo: Marchesa of Val D’Orcia. Allison & Busby Limited, 2014.

Origo, Iris. Chill in the Air: An Italian War Diary, 1939-1940. NYRB Classics, 2018.

Origo, Iris. War in Val d’Orcia: An Italian War Diary, 1943-1944. NYRB Classics, 2018.

Origo, Iris, and Katia Lysy. Images and Shadows: Part of a Life. NYRB Classics, 2019.

The true story of twenty-three children who lost their homes during World War II and found peace, friendship, and resilience as irefugees in the Italian countryside.