Ebook: 368 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Penguin 2020
Source: My Kindle
First Sentences: In the small piazza overlooked by shuttered windows, balconies and terracotta roofs, the heat hangs heavily, the air smells of smoke and the inhabitants are either asleep or hiding.
Review Quote: 'A stunning story of love and loyalty in wartime' Rachel Hore
Setting: Tuscany, Italy
My Opinion: Dinah Jefferies is a favourite author of mine because she transports me to beautiful locations that come alive with her vivid descriptions. I have been a fan since her debut novel The Separation was published in 2014.
‘The Tuscan Contessa’ is set in my beloved Italy during the latter years of WWII. The descriptive narrative transports one to the hill top villages between Rome and Florence during the horrendous period of the country’s occupation by the Germans. With the storyline weaving together historical fact and fiction the reader learns how the two main female characters Sofia de Corsi and Maxine are involved with the allied resistance movement. Suffering so much sacrifice and sadness these women are so brave and under extreme pressure, during this ugly period of Italys history.
Once again Dinah Jefferies has written a novel I throughly enjoyed and can recommend to anyone that enjoys WWII fiction.
Links to Previous Reviews: The Separation. The Missing Sister. The Sapphire Widow.
Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:
In 1940s Tuscany, Contessa Sofia de' Corsi's peaceful home in a medieval villa among the olive groves has been upturned by the arrival of German soldiers. She is desperate to help her friends in the village fight back in any way she can, all while keeping her efforts secret from her husband Lorenzo, who fears for their safety. When Maxine, a no-nonsense Italian-American, arrives in Tuscany to help the resistance, the two women forge an uneasy alliance. Before long they find themselves entangled in a dangerous game with the Nazis, each trying to save the ones they love...
Author Profile:
Courtesy of Twitter Profile
Biography in her own words from her website
I was born in Malaysia but moved to the UK at the age of nine, going on to study fashion design, work in Tuscany as an au pair for an Italian countess, and live with a rock band in a commune in Suffolk.
A family tragedy changed everything, and I draw on the experience of loss in my writing, infusing love, loss, and danger with the seductive escapism of my locations. The sense of place, of history and of human nature is a heady mix in the novels.
Published in 29 languages in over 30 countries, I am currently writing an epic series for my new publisher Harper Collins (my 8th, 9th, and 10th novels) starting with Daughters of War set in 1944 in France (Sept 2021). I’ve always loved Italy but spent some years living in a tiny 16th Century village in Northern Andalusia, Spain. Now I’m delighted to have settled close to my family in the South West of England along with my husband and two enormous and very lovely Maine Coon cats.
Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:
Goodreads Author Profile Twitter Profile Dinah Jefferies - Official Website
No comments:
Post a Comment
I indulge my love of books with this blog and it makes it all worthwhile when you leave comments. I really am interested in what you think so do let me know. I have decided as the nature of this review blog makes for conversation in the comments, just to reply here and not individually, so please subscribe to comments or call back again to stay in the conversation. Thankyou for your continued support.