— published May/2020. Available for order from the publisher, independent book stores, as well as Chapters/Indigo and Amazon—

If Tenderness Be Gold, is set in 19th-century and early 20th-century northern Ontario and Manitoba. An Irish mother, an Italian herbalist, and a Scottish midwife come together on the night of a difficult birth, and the result of their union has effects that echo through the generations.

Advanced praise for If Tenderness Be Gold:

"Eleanor Albanese's debut novel, If Tenderness Be Gold, is a beautiful tapestry, woven on a loom formed by the waters of Black Bay and the boreal forests of northern Ontario, its warp strung by a mother whose loneliness and love for her child dared her to befriend an outsider." - Jean E. Pendziwol, author of The Lightkeepers Daughter

"If Tenderness Be Gold is a poetic, painterly novel about the mysteries of family - about generational memory and all its gifts and burdens. Albanese's writing is powerful magic." - Natalie Morrill, author of The Ghost Keeper