Inspiration and Development
Mary Hoffman was originally inspired to write the Stravaganza series after a family trip to Venice and an incident involving a gondola ride. The subsequent books developed from the original idea. The country of Talia reflects Hoffman's own imagining of what Italy is like. Further inspiration of the settings for each of the books came from Hoffman's regular trips to Italy.
Though the series was intended to be a trilogy, it was later expanded into six books. For continuing the series, the fourth book in the series, City of Secrets, derived from the theme of secrets and knowledge while continuing on the open-ended plot at the end of City of Flowers, where Luciano Crinamorte is due to attend university in the city of Padavia. Each book in the series introduces a new protagonist as a Stravagante, a traveler between England and the parallel world of Talia, while maintaining previously introduced characters as part of the supporting cast.
Read more about this topic: Stravaganza (series)
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