The Tuscan Girl
The Tuscan Girl

Author: Angela Petch

Publisher: Bookouture

Published: 2020-02-25

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 9781838881986

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She ran away through the pine trees when the soldiers came. Staggering into the hiding place, she felt a fluttering in her belly, like a butterfly grazing its wings, and knew instantly she had something to fight for. Present day When her fiancé is tragically killed in an accident, twenty-six-year-old Alba is convinced she's to blame. Heavy with grief and guilt, she flees to her childhood home - the tiny village of Rofelle, nestled in a remote Tuscan valley. Out hiking one day to fill the long, lonely hours, she finds a mahogany box filled with silverware, hidden near the vine-covered ruins of an isolated house left abandoned after World War II. Could finding the rightful owner ease Alba's heartache, and somehow make amends for her own wrongs? In search of answers, Alba meets Massimo, an elderly man who wants to spend his final years pruning his fruit trees, alone with his painful memories. His face turns pale when Alba brings up the war, but she senses that their shared grief connects them. An unlikely friendship grows as little by little Massimo speaks of Lucia a wild young girl with sparkling eyes who fell in love with an enemy soldier, bravely stole precious Italian treasures back from Nazi occupiers, and whose selfless courage and sacrifice altered the course of the war - and Massimo's life. With each visit, Alba gets closer to unravelling the mystery of the silver, and they both start putting their ghosts to rest. But there's one part of Lucia's story that Massimo might never be able to share - and he's running out of time. Has Alba churned up emotions that are too painful to ever confront? Or, will unearthing a wartime secret that has lain buried for generations finally bring Massimo peace? An absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking read that will sweep you away to the rugged mountains and lush olive groves of Tuscany. Fans of The Nightingale, Rhys Bowen and Julianne MacLean will be captivated. What readers are saying about Angela Petch: 'Astounding... I don't think there is a single page that does not have you racing to read what happens next... heartbreaking... a riveting read, it is an enthralling experience... a must-read.' Giascribes 'Fantastic read... I loved this book... will grab you and hold onto you long after you put it down... an amazing story.' Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars 'Heartbreaking and compelling... A beautiful story, told with such emotion and feeling that it makes you forget where you are and what you are doing!' Stardust Book Reviews 'Boy what an emotional read... I felt myself welling up and on the verge of tears... written superbly.' The Ginger Book Geek 'Wow!... The writing is magnificent... A story of love, loss, secrets and hope... I have truly fallen in love... A beautiful, touching story that I would recommend to everyone.' Cooking the Books

The Tuscan House
The Tuscan House

Author: Angela Petch

Publisher: Bookouture

Published: 2021-04-07

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 9781800193901

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Corbello, Italy, 1947. A woman and a little boy stagger into the ruins of an old house deep in the forest, wild roses overwhelming the crumbling terracotta walls. Since the war, nowhere has been safe. But they both freeze in shock when a voice calls out from the shadows... For young mother Fosca Sentino, accepting refuge from ex-British soldier Richard - in Tuscany to escape his tragic past - is the only way to keep her little family safe. She once risked everything to spy on Nazi commanders and pass secret information to the resistenza. But after a heartbreaking betrayal, Fosca's best friend Simonetta disappeared without trace. The whole community was torn apart, and now Fosca and her son are outcasts. Wary of this handsome stranger at first, Fosca slowly starts to feel safe as she watches him play with her son in the overgrown orchard. But her fragile peace is shattered the moment a silver brooch is found in the garden, and she recognises it as Simonetta's... Fosca has always suspected that another member of the resistenza betrayed her. With Richard by her side, she must find out if Simonetta is still alive, and clear her own name. But how did the brooch end up at the house? And with a traitor hiding in the village, willing to do anything to keep this secret buried, has Fosca put herself and her young son in terrible danger? An absolutely gripping and heartbreaking page-turner that explores the incredible courage of ordinary people in extraordinary times. Perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen, The Nightingale, and anyone longing to lose themselves in the mountain landscapes and olive groves of rural Tuscany. Read what everyone's saying about Angela Petch: 'Fantastic read... I loved this book... will grab you and hold onto you long after you put it down... an amazing story.' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Loved it!!!... Beautiful... heartbreaking... The ending of the book was perfect... Definitely recommend... Loved everything about it.' Goodreads reviewer

The Tuscan Secret
The Tuscan Secret

Author: Angela Petch

Publisher: Forever

Published: 2022

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 9781538706206

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This sweeping historical novel from a bestselling author follows the lives of two generations of women, the secrets they keep, their sacrifices for love, and the heartbreaking betrayals they encounter--perfect for fans of Kelly Rimmer and Natasha Lester.​ Il Mulino. An old crumbling mill, by a winding river, nestled in the Tuscan mountains. An empty home that holds memories of homemade pasta and Nonna's stories by the fire, and later: the Nazi invasion, and a family torn apart by a heartbreaking betrayal. Anna is distraught when her beloved mother, Ines, passes away. She inherits a box of papers, handwritten in Italian and yellowed with age, and a tantalizing promise that the truth about what happened during the war lies within. The diaries lead Anna to the small village of Rofelle, where she slowly starts to heal as she explores sun-kissed olive groves, and pieces together her mother's past: memories of homemade pasta, Nonna's stories by the fire, and happy days spent herding sheep across Tuscan meadows cruelly interrupted when World War II erupted and the Nazis arrived. Her mother fleeing her home to join the Resistenza and risking everything to protect an injured British soldier who captured her heart. But Anna is no closer to learning the truth . . . What sent Ines running from her adored homeland? When she meets an elderly Italian gentleman living in a deserted hamlet, who flinches at her mother's name and refuses to speak English, Anna is sure he knows more about the devastating secret that tore apart her mother's family. But in this small Tuscan community, some wartime secrets were never meant to be uncovered . . .

The Reluctant Tuscan
The Reluctant Tuscan

Author: Phil Doran

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2012-09-30

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1448131022

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Rising From The Mist in the sun-blushed hills of Tuscany is Il Piccolo Rustico, a 300-year-old stone farmhouse that Nancy Doran dreams of lovingly restoring into an idlyllic home. All her husband Phil can see is a crumbling money pit that, as far as dreams go, is more of a nightmare. Reluctantly leaving behind high -octane, air-conditioned Los Angeles where he lives and works as a writer-producer, Phil is uprooted to a strange country intoxicated by O sole mio, virgin olive oil and oak-aged Chianti. The local village reveals itself to be a hive of seething passions, secrets and age-old blood feuds, and the newcomers find that life is not all strolls around town during the passagiato and relaxing under the awnings of picturesque cafes. Beset by a rift of exasperating challenges - from the cunning tricks of the Pinatore family to an infuriating Byzantine Italian bureaucracy - it is only with an inspired touch of the 'Inner Italian' that Phil and Nancy finally manage to soften the hearts of their neighbours and are embraced by the community.

Under the Tuscan Sun
Under the Tuscan Sun

Author: Frances Mayes

Publisher: Crown

Published: 2003-08-26

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 0767917456

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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The beloved memoir of self-discovery set against the spectacular Tuscan countryside that inspired the major motion picture starring Diane Lane—now in a twentieth-anniversary edition featuring a new afterword “This beautifully written memoir about taking chances, living in Italy, loving a house and, always, the pleasures of food, would make a perfect gift for a loved one. But it’s so delicious, read it first yourself.”—USA Today For more Frances Mayes, including a tour of her now iconic Cortona home, Bramasole, watch PBS’s Dream of Italy: Tuscan Sun Special! More than twenty years ago, Frances Mayes—widely published poet, gourmet cook, and travel writer—introduced readers to a wondrous new world when she bought and restored an abandoned Tuscan villa called Bramasole. Under the Tuscan Sun inspired generations to embark on their own journeys—whether that be flying to a foreign country in search of themselves, savoring one of the book’s dozens of delicious seasonal recipes, or simply being transported by Mayes’s signature evocative, sensory language. Now with a new afterword from Frances Mayes, the twentieth-anniversary edition of Under the Tuscan Sun revisits the book’s most popular characters.

Bella Tuscany
Bella Tuscany

Author: Frances Mayes

Publisher: Crown

Published: 2003-08-05

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 0767916301

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Frances Mayes, whose enchanting #1 New York Times bestseller Under the Tuscan Sun made the world fall in love with Tuscany, invites readers back for a delightful new season of friendship, festivity, and food, there and throughout Italy. Having spent her summers in Tuscany for the past several years, Frances Mayes relished the opportunity to experience the pleasures of primavera, an Italian spring. A sabbatical from teaching in San Francisco allowed her to return to Cortona—and her beloved house, Bramasole—just as the first green appeared on the rocky hillsides. Bella Tuscany, a companion volume to Under the Tuscan Sun, is her passionate and lyrical account of her continuing love affair with Italy. Now truly at home there, Mayes writes of her deepening connection to the land, her flourishing friendships with local people, the joys of art, food, and wine, and the rewards and occasional heartbreaks of her villa's ongoing restoration. It is also a memoir of a season of change, and of renewed possibility. As spring becomes summer she revives Bramasole's lush gardens, meets the challenges of learning a new language, tours regions from Sicily to the Veneto, and faces transitions in her family life. Filled with recipes from her Tuscan kitchen and written in the sensuous and evocative prose that has become her hallmark, Bella Tuscany is a celebration of the sweet life in Italy. Now with an excerpt from Frances Mayes's latest southern memoir, Under Magnolia.

The Girl from Berlin
The Girl from Berlin

Author: Ronald H. Balson

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Published: 2018-10-09

Total Pages: 435

ISBN-13: 1250195268

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In the newest novel from internationally-bestselling author Ronald. H. Balson, Liam and Catherine come to the aid of an old friend and are drawn into a property dispute in Tuscany that unearths long-buried secrets An old friend calls Catherine Lockhart and Liam Taggart to his famous Italian restaurant to enlist their help. His aunt is being evicted from her home in the Tuscan hills by a powerful corporation claiming they own the deeds, even though she can produce her own set of deeds to her land. Catherine and Liam’s only clue is a bound handwritten manuscript, entirely in German, and hidden in its pages is a story long-forgotten... Ada Baumgarten was born in Berlin in 1918, at the end of the war. The daughter of an accomplished first-chair violinist in the prestigious Berlin Philharmonic, and herself a violin prodigy, Ada’s life was full of the rich culture of Berlin’s interwar society. She formed a deep attachment to her childhood friend Kurt, but they were torn apart by the growing unrest as her Jewish family came under suspicion. As the tides of history turned, it was her extraordinary talent that would carry her through an unraveling society turned to war, and make her a target even as it saved her, allowing her to move to Bologna—though Italy was not the haven her family had hoped, and further heartache awaited. What became of Ada? How is she connected to the conflicting land deeds of a small Italian villa? As they dig through the layers of lies, corruption, and human evil, Catherine and Liam uncover an unfinished story of heart, redemption, and hope—the ending of which is yet to be written. Don't miss Liam and Catherine's lastest adventures in The Girl from Berlin!

A Tuscan Memory
A Tuscan Memory

Author: Angela Petch

Publisher: Bookouture

Published: 2020-09-07

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 9781800190399

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In a tiny hamlet nestled in the Tuscan mountains, farmers gather after a hard day in the meadows, and children's laughter rings across the square: but one little boy does not join in their play. Behind his deep brown eyes, hides a heartbreaking secret... Ninety years later. When elderly Giselda Chiozzi discovers a lost little boy, curled up asleep in the beech forest outside her grand but empty home, she can't help but take pity on him. It's been a long time since she had a visitor. Waking up to her kind smile and the warming smell of Italian hot chocolate, Davide soon blurts out what drove him into the cold Tuscan night: he's different from everyone else, he's never belonged anywhere, and now his beloved mother is ill. With her heart full of sadness for this lost child, Giselda promises to help Davide trace his family history - she knows better than anyone that connecting with your roots can ground you in the present, and hopes it will make Davide realise that home is where he truly belongs. Together the unlikely pair discover the story of Davide's great-grandfather, Giuseppe Starnucci, a young boy who spent his days milking cows, helping with the harvest, and hammering horseshoes in the forge. But after a terrible incident that changed his life forever, Giuseppe also ran away. Forced to become a man before his time, Giuseppe joined the treacherous pilgrimage all Tuscan farmers must make from the mountains to the plains, sacrificing everything to ensure the survival of their families. Engrossed in the story, Davide is slowly starting to heal when he and Giselda discover a shocking secret which Giuseppe took to his grave - and which now threatens to tear apart Davide's family for good. Will Davide let the pain of the past determine his future, or can he find the courage, love and loyalty within him to return home... and even if Davide himself finds peace, will it be too late for Giselda? Inspired by true stories of rural Italian life, this absolutely stunning historical read is perfect for fans of Dinah Jeffries, Rhys Bowen, and anyone who's ever longed to stroll beneath the cypress trees and taste the fresh mountain air of Tuscany. Previously published as Now and Then in Tuscany. Read what everyone's saying about A Tuscan Memory 'Crammed with stunning descriptions... a beautifully written and well-observed tale that will take you straight into the Tuscan countryside.' Goodreads reviewer 'If you embark on this journey of discovery then be sure to prepare some delicious crostini, in advance, as you will not be able to put the book down... completely absorbing... beautiful... a cleverly crafted narrative.' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars 'The author's love of the landscape and people of this beautiful region shine through... Angela Petch is an inspired storyteller who knows how to blend in a touch of mystery to keep the reader guessing.' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars 'Fascinating and moving... intensely imagined and exquisitely detailed recreation of a lost way of life.' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

The Sunflower Girl
The Sunflower Girl

Author: Rosanna Chiofalo

Publisher: Kensington Books

Published: 2018-07-31

Total Pages: 377

ISBN-13: 1617739405

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Set in Italy during WWII and twenty-five years later, this is a story of a mother and daughter, of love and the secrets that echo through generations. In the fields around Tuscany in summertime, sunflowers grow in abundance—wave upon wave of gold and green standing tall against the Italian sky. But for Signora Maria Ferraro, the bright yellow blooms she once loved as a child have come to represent the most painful episode of her life. Not even her cherished daughter, Anabella, knows what happened to her during World War II, when the Germans overran her hometown of Florence and Signora Ferraro fell in love with a Resistance fighter. In the aftermath of loss and grief she found salvation through an unlikely source—cultivating roses on her farm in the Tuscan countryside. Now the blossoms symbolize everything that is both good and safe, and she nurtures them with as much care as she guards her past. Yet to Anabella, the rose farm that once delighted her has become little more than a pretty prison. Despite her beautiful surroundings, Anabella longs for more. During one of her regular visits to Siena to sell their flowers, Anabella encounters a handsome young artist named Dante Galletti. His canvases are filled with images of a girl who looks just like Anabella—and Dante claims to have seen her in his dreams, running through a sunflower field. Through Dante, Anabella begins to see sunflowers, her cloistered existence, and the world itself through new eyes. As their relationship deepens, Anabella knows she will soon have to choose between loyalty to her mother, and the risks and rewards of living on her own terms . . .

The Scribe of Siena
The Scribe of Siena

Author: Melodie Winawer

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2017-05-16

Total Pages: 464

ISBN-13: 1501152254

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"Equal parts ... love story and ... historical conspiracy--think The Girl with a Pearl Earring meets Outlander--debut author Melodie Winawer takes readers deep into medieval Italy, where the past and present blur and a twenty-first century woman will discover a plot to destroy Siena"--