The Tuscan Secret: An absolutely gripping, emotional, World War 2 historical novel

Good story

This is an easy read but a good story.

A really good read

Having read this author's first book (Tuscan Roots) I eagerly awaited her second novel. This beautiful story did not disappoint.It moves from modern day to Italy in the last throes of the second world war and England coming to terms with rationing and hardship. The transition is skillfully achieved and the characters come alive. The descriptions are evocative of time and place.'Piles of silver foliage have been left round the knotty trunks like discarded petticoats' describes the olive trees after the farmers have pruned them. I was there with Anna, the main character when she explores the region her father fought in the war.Don't read this book when you are hungry, the descriptions of food are exotic and mouth watering.: 'stuffed zucchini flowers, little squares of crostini topped with spicy tomatoes ... roasted bay leaves with ovals of melted cheese...' Anna describes it as '... a meal from a fairy tale.'The author doesn't shy away from using Italian phrases with their explanations deftly woven in and it gives the novel an authentic flavour.I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes an intelligent love story.

The end is a surprise. A very enjoyable read. Enjoyed the information and knowledge of life in the Italian mountain villages at the time.

An entertaining story. Possibly a bit long. Beautiful description of Italy. Loveable characters.

When Anna’s mother dies she is left a pile of dusty diaries. It seems a shabby bequest compared to the house which her brother inherits, or the jewellery which is her sister’s legacy. But those diaries are going to endow Anna with all kinds of unforeseen riches as she travels to Tuscany to find out the truth about her parents’ wartime romance.There is nothing like a bundle of old letters, a secret diary or a dusty old manuscript to get the imaginative juices flowing and this one certainly does not disappoint. It’s a riveting story and all the more interesting for being, I suspect, not that unusual after WW2, when war proved a catalyst for romance between people of different nationalities. In those cases, as here, the difficulties of melding languages and cultures, of one partner having to leave behind everything familiar to begin a new life in a strange land make for heart-rending human interest stories.Tuscan Roots is told in two time-frames. 1999 sees Anna travel to her mother’s birthplace in the beautiful Tuscan mountains where, with the help of the local community she is able to translate and piece together the storyline of her parents’ courtship. The people she meets and the places she visits are vividly described - landscape colour and local kindness both make the setting powerfully attractive. This portion of the narrative is related in the present tense, which makes it immediate, as though the story is unfurling as we read, but this is not an easy thing to pull off.Interleaved with Anna’s story are flashbacks to her mother’s diaries and also to some of her father’s wartime journal. The writer handles these changes in point of view very deftly and we get a very clear idea of the different characters. I especially enjoyed the more mature writings of Ines as she had to come to terms with the effect the war has had on her husband and the hard graft of marriage when the first flush of romance has died.As you would expect, the denouement of both tales is the point when the past hits the present, and this came off brilliantly. What’s more, I happen to know there is a future, as I have read the sequel, ‘Now and Then in Tuscany’, also highly recommended.

A little long winded in some places but overall a very good. I recommend this as a very good read.

I disagree strongly with the bad reviews about this novel and agree wholeheartedly with the great reviews.I love a good history book and gravitate towards World War 2 stories. I could not put this book down. It will now be in my top 10 World War fiction favorites.Character development was fabulous. I fell in love with Anna and her mother Ines. But it wasn't just those two that I fell in love with. Her descriptions of Italy, the countryside and the historical landmarks were wonderful as well. Truly a captivating read. The anguish, pain and horror of the war tore at my heart. A very emotional read. I will definitely seek out more novels by Angela Petch. I am very happy I stumbled across this book and Ms Petch and I am very happy I ignored the bad reviews.

a beautiful story which was diffixult to put down

A beautiful, tragic story set in wartime Italy and the present day. When Anna's mother dies, she leaves her daughter a set of diaries she wrote when she was younger, with precious details of her life. Anna decides to go to Tuscany to retrace her mother's footsteps and find out more.The author leads us along shaded mountain paths, past abandoned villages decimated by German retaliation, lets us paddle in a cool, refreshing stream that can turn into a raging torrent in the blink of an eye, shelters with us in a decrepit old barn, until we finally reach the old mulino where Anna's mother grew up. Each detail is breathtakingly described, with every scene you are drawn further back into the past and the lives of the people who lived at that time.The two stories, both Anna's and Ines', are slowly revealed, peeling away layers until the bare core remains. There are tears, tragedy, and heartfelt moments that keep you enthralled right to the end. Highly recommend.

This book is the classic story of wartime romance, which seems wonderful at the time but which can lead to tragic mistakes. I wonder how many of them truly happened and how many people today do not know the truth about their parents and their youth?

Took me awhile to get into the story, but I did learn more about what it was like in Italy during WWII through the eyes of fictional characters. I wouldn't describe it as gripping but good enough to keep me reading. I do recommend the book.