Synopsis – The Florence Letter
Looking out over the twinkling city lights of Florence, Claire thinks of the letter that has brought her here. Written by a woman who escaped the Blitz, it holds a secret kept for a lifetime… but can Claire make the woman’s dying wish come true?
Claire arrives at her new job as researcher at a grand English country house, nursing a broken heart. But tucked into the back of a long-forgotten drawer she finds a letter written in an elegant hand. It tells of a wartime secret about the beautiful Lady Violet – whose passionate affair with an Italian prisoner of war scandalised the village and ended in tragedy.
Captivated, Claire promises to find Violet’s daughter, Tabitha, and reunite her with a priceless piece of her mother’s jewellery. With only the name of an Italian bakery, Pasticceria Mancini, to guide her, and the help of her handsome neighbour Jim, Claire travels to Tabitha’s last known location – Florence.
Winding through the colourful streets, the sun warm on her bare shoulders, a tantalising scent of freshly baked bread floats on the air and Claire’s heart leaps at the sight of an ageing bakery sign: Mancini. Although she learns that Tabitha hasn’t been there for many years, Claire refuses to give up. And as she and Jim talk late into the night over glasses of local chianti, Claire looks into his piercing blue eyes and finds herself growing closer to him…
But when they finally track Tabitha down, it isn’t the happy reunion she expected and Claire is left reeling in the wake of discovering a devastating family secret.
Violet’s story has an ending – but will the truth lead to forgiveness, or will it only bring more pain? And will Claire be forced to walk away from a chance of happiness with Jim at last?
Escape to Italy in this gorgeous story of past and present colliding. Readers of Lucinda Riley and Fiona Valpy will be utterly enchanted by this sweeping, romantic page-turner.
Author Bio
Anita likes to read journals and diaries from the past, and one of her favourite pastimes is visiting art galleries and country houses. Her first published novel, The Venice Secret, is inspired by her mother taking her to see the Canalettos at The National Gallery in London as a child.
The Venice Secret was published in March 2023 and spent six weeks in the overall Amazon UK Kindle Top 100, reaching number thirty-eight. The Venice Secret has had over four million Kindle Unlimited pages read and received more than 3000 Amazon reviews since publication.
Since 2015, Anita has worked as a social media manager, training authors on social media, and helping to promote their books. She’s run several courses in London and York, and has worked as a tutor at Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College.
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My Review
The Florence Letter: Absolutely spellbinding and page-turning dual narrative fiction by Anita Chapman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
As someone who absolutely loved my brief visit to Florence, I was drawn in by this book cover and the hope of beautiful descriptions of Florence. Those did not disappoint. The city is lovely, and the book did a good job of capturing that spirit.
This is a dual point of view story, Claire in present day and Margaret in the late days of World War II. Despite the name and the cover the majority of the book takes place in the countryside outside of London.
This is an easy read with both women having interesting stories. There were parts where it dragged a bit but then it would pick up the pace again.
Overall, this is a quick, easy read and fans of historical fiction especially those with a little romance will enjoy it.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, Bookouture, for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
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