"... takes the reader beneath the surface of the magical holiday destination..."[Books in my Handbag]
"Angela Petch is an inspired storyteller." Perdisma
"A beautifully written and researched family saga that spans three generations of an Italian family..." C.A. Reviews
A lovingly researched account, based on true stories, about Giuseppe Starnucci, a young Italian boy, at the start of the twentieth century, as he journeys on foot with shepherds from his mountain village in the Tuscan Apennines to the coast. His adventures are tracked by his great grandson one hundred years later and we learn of present day problems mirroring those of his ancestors. A story of hardship, secrets and romance which brings to light the customs and people of rural Tuscany in a troubled period of history, when the dominance of Mussolini is always lurking in the background. The author's literary style has been praised as: "a great combination of a true account and fiction." This book follows on the author's first novel, "Tuscan Roots", (now revised and republished as "The Tuscan Secret"), praised by Julia Gregson for its "vivid, natural and direct...writing. Moving and interesting with lovely touches of humour." Both of these family sagas about Tuscany are stand-alone.
