It's a real story and the unique story of a young man who toady would be diagnosed with ADD, pigeon-holed and the development of his free spirit held back. But back then, in the early 30s, he simply packs his bag, takes some money and some recommendations, and leaves on foot from London to Constantinople. That alone is so wonderfully quirky, awe-inspiring and fascinating. The world he discovers and enjoys is one on the brink of extinction - it is 1934 and the Nazis are on the rise, swallowing all that is beautiful tradition and hospitality in Germany in the wake of the hell-fire they unleash. A must-read to understand the changes that we face today in the the world of today.
'[This] gloriously ornate account of that epic journey is a classic' ROBERT MACFARLANE
'Not only is this journey one of physical adventure but of cultural awakening. Architecture, art, genealogy, quirks of history and language are all devoured -- and here passed on -- with a gusto uniquely his' COLIN THUBRON, Sunday Times
'One of the most romantic books of the twentieth century, Patrick Leigh Fermor's account of a long walk across Europe is also a literary treasure, a rich blend of action and observation' Guardian
I knew little about Bernini and certainly nothing about Costanza. I like the twist that let's her discover the reason for her being barren; I like her lust for life and it's shockingly instructive how the male world begrudges her that quest for that little bit of life. The ending is uplifting - sisterhood is her ultimate saving grace. The author evokes Baroque Rome beautifully!
'Wonderful... This novel took over my life for the time I was buried in it. Powerful and deeply affecting' Paterson Joseph
Rome, 1636: In the scorched city of Rome, the cobbled streets hum with gossip and sin...
Costanza Piccolomini is a respectable young wife - until she meets Gianlorenzo Bernini, the famed sculptor and star of Roman society, whose jet-black gaze matches his dark temper. From the second they set eyes upon each other, a fatal attraction is born.
Their secret love burns with a passion that consumes them. But with every stolen kiss and illicit tryst, Costanza's reputation is…
It's a coming-of-age novel and so much more. Buchan weaves her narrative into a mystery that must be solved as much for the reader as for Sophie, whose story recalled, for me, the young heroines of Elizabeth Jane Howard, modern women cramped by convention, yet spirited and courageous. A wonderful, engrossing, tear-jerking and joyful read - it felt like a beam of light cast in the darkness of post-war Britain and the joie de vivre of Paris. Irresistible!
'Vividly conjures the excitement of Paris' RUTH HOGAN, bestselling author of THE KEEPER OF LOST THINGS'Beguiling' TheTimes. Can she escape the darkness of her past in the City of Light?. It's 1959 and time for eighteen-year-old Sophie's real life to start. Her existence in the village of Poynsdean, Sussex, with her austere foster-father, the Reverend Osbert Knox, and his frustrated wife Alice, is stultifying. She finds diversion and excitement in a love affair, but soon realizes that if she wants to live life on a bigger canvas she must take matters into her own hands. . She dreams of escape…
Young and beautiful Gytha Godwinson is the envy of England when her father Harold seizes the country’s crown in early 1066. But soon, treachery tears her house apart, and triumph turns to terror. An evil star appears, heralding the end of an era and a new beginning for Britain. Her family and the country seem cursed. Yet even as she suffers loss, betrayal and humiliation, Gytha is determined to regain what is rightfully hers.
In a stunning re-telling of 1066, international bestselling author Ellen Alpsten has created a captivating new heroine in Gytha Godwinson. Witness the end of England's ancient house, the demise of a cursed kingdom and the emergence of a new empire. 'The Last Princess' bridges myth and modernity: it is stringent historical fiction that teems with giants, green-faced fairy-folk, handsome hunks, nasty Norse sorceresses, a malevolent star and a beautiful Princess struggling to evade a spell - and it's all true.
