The Village Trattoria

1943, Wartime Italy.

Trattoria di Luca sits at the heart of the small Umbrian town of Amatino. For decades it has been run by the di Luca and Capaldi patriarchs and become a byword not only for fabulous food, but also wine from the Capaldi vineyard. But now the last of these great men is dead, Italy is consumed by war and everything must change.

Sophie di Luca has always assumed her beloved father would leave the trattoria to her, a fine chef in her own right. But in Mussolini's Italy a woman's place is strictly in the home, and Sophie's father has secretly arranged for Giorgio Capaldi to come back from Rome to take over Trattoria di Luca.

Charismatic, forceful, grieving the loss of his wife and unborn baby in an Allied bombing raid, Giorgio is in no mood to compromise with Sophie. As conflict within the family rises, Mussolini falls and the Germans march in. Life is about to become very dangerous indeed.

An atmospheric and moving novel, perfect for fans of Santa Montefiore and Victoria Hislop.

Praise for Annabelle Thorpe:
'Unputdownable!' Claire Dyer, author of The Last Day
'A pacy, engaging tale of human weakness and of passion so overwhelming it can make fools of us all' Daily Express

The Italian setting is lovingly described...a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit in times of extreme adversity -- Historical Novel Review
‘A compelling plot packed full of emotion and drama’ My Weekly
Buy of the Week Daily Mirror / Daily Express
Travel writer Annabelle Thorpe brings her love of Umbria, Italy, to a holiday read of two families living through the war-torn Italian summer of 1943 Daily Mirror / Daily Express
An evocative, beautifully written tale of love and community. The perfect immersive holiday read Sussex Life

Annabelle Thorpe has been a travel and features journalist for over twenty years, spending six years on The Times Travel desk, before becoming deputy travel editor for Express Newspapers, and then taking the same role at the Observer. She was named one of the top 50 travel writers in the UK and has visited almost sixty countries, including crossing China by train, driving solo across the Omani desert, and nearly getting run over in Tripoli. Her first novel, The People We Were Before, was set in the Croatian civil war of the 1990s, her second, What Lies Within, is set in Marrakech. She has also written two travel books. Home is rural Sussex, with her husband and cat, although she remains a Londoner at heart.

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