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The Tuscan Secret: An absolutely gripping, emotional, World War 2 historical novel by [Angela Petch]

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Angela Petch

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

by Angela Petch (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

2,772 ratings

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Il Mulino. An old crumbling mill, by a winding river, nestled in the Tuscan mountains. An empty home that holds memories of homemade pasta and Nonna’s stories by the fire, and later: the Nazi invasion, and a family torn apart by a heartbreaking betrayal.

Anna is distraught when her beloved mother, Ines, passes away. She inherits a box of papers, handwritten in Italian and yellowed with age, and a tantalising promise that the truth about what happened during the war lies within.

The diaries lead Anna to the small village of Rofelle, where she slowly starts to heal as she explores sun-kissed olive groves, and pieces together her mother’s past: happy days spent herding sheep across Tuscan meadows cruelly interrupted when World War Two erupted and the Nazis arrived; fleeing her home to join the Resistenza; and risking everything to protect an injured British soldier who captured her heart. But Anna is no closer to learning the truth: what sent Ines running from her adored homeland?

When she meets an elderly Italian gentleman living in a deserted hamlet, who flinches at her mother’s name and refuses to speak English, Anna is sure he knows more about the devastating secret that tore apart her mother’s family. But in this small Tuscan community, some wartime secrets were never meant to be uncovered…

A stunning tale, inspired by true events, about how the tragic consequences of war can echo through generations, and how love can guide us through the darkest times. Fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale and The Letter by Kathryn Hughes will be captivated.

Readers have fallen in love with The Tuscan Secret:

‘Wow!... The writing is magnificent… A story of love, lose, secrets and hope… I have truly fallen in love… A beautiful, touching story that I would recommend to everyone.’ Cooking the Books

‘An absolutely gripping story of world War II… You must read this book. You can hardly put it down.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘Wow what a story… could not put it down.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘Boy what an emotional read… I felt myself welling up and on the verge of tears… written superbly.’ The Ginger Book Geek
‘Exquisite writing… If you are a fan of Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale, you cannot miss this one… I highly recommend it.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘Angela Petch is astounding… a compelling story… an enthralling experience… Highly recommend this as a must-read.’ Giascribes

‘This beautifully woven story had me captivated from the start… I could not help but LOVE the descriptions of Tuscany, the countryside, the people and the food.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘This was a beautifully told tale… a perfect read… so wonderfully descriptive I could imagine myself there amongst the breathtaking scenery and tasting the delicious Italian food… exceptional.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘I was gripped… The author weaves a magical tale.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘A fabulous historical fiction story… wonderful… Angela Petch is now added to my favourite author list… The rich details of the story are captivating. A must read.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘Fantastic read… I loved this book...I would highly recommend.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘A wonderful story… I was completely captivated… quite heart-breaking.’ All Things Bookie

‘Excellent book!... will grab you and hold onto you long after you put it down.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘A captivating story… heart-breaking and compelling.’ Stardust Book Reviews

This book was previously published as Tuscan Roots.

Length: 356 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled

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Product description

About the Author

Angela Petch is a prize-winning author who lives six months of the year in Tuscany and the remaining half year in Sussex, England. She lived in Rome for six formative years, where her passion for Italy was born. "Tuscan Roots" is her first novel and a sequel was published in April 2017: "Now and Then in Tuscany". Angela Petch also writes short stories that appear in national magazines in Great Britain. Both books are written in English but have Italian content. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN : B07Q38YX7X
Publisher : Bookouture (June 26 2019)
Language: : English
File size : 1570 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 356 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #869 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #35 in Historical Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #59 in Literary Fiction eBooks
- #91 in Historical Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
2,772 ratings

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Customer reviews

5 star		61%
4 star		24%
3 star		11%
2 star		3%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from Canada

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diane

Ignore household tasks and plan on reading day and night

Reviewed in Canada on July 15, 2020

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I enjoyed reading the book - found it hard to put down. I especially enjoyed the description of Italy and the Italian customs - wishing I was there! Made me wonder how my Italian ancestors lived and wishing I could I could visit - this book was the next best thing to travelling to Italy. Looking forward to another book to read as I have read both books now and need another trip to Italy.

4 people found this helpful

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Shirley Misener

Loved This Book

Reviewed in Canada on April 27, 2020

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I really enjoyed this book, she is a fabulous writer - memorable characters it makes one want to go to Tuscany - I am looking forward to reading all three of her books in this series

One person found this helpful

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Grace Halperin

"Love Story"

Reviewed in Canada on January 13, 2021

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I would certainly not call this book gripping nor emotional. It is not a historical novel but the background is the Italian front during WW11. The historical information was non-existent. I would call this book a love story with war as a background. The story is an easy read and a very good read for the beach. I would not recommend this book to any serious reader of literature or history

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Hezzie

Not good

Reviewed in Canada on September 15, 2019

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Just couldn't get into this book after 74 pages so decided to put it down. Really thought it would be a good one but, in my opinion, it is not.

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Amazon Customer

Excited to start reading

Reviewed in Canada on August 17, 2020

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I am all set up for a season of fall and winter reading

One person found this helpful

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Unity Student

Couldn't get into it

Reviewed in Canada on December 15, 2020

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Disapointing. Did not care for the authors style of writing and her use of changes of tense. I tried to like it!

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Mary Craig

Good work of fiction.

Reviewed in Canada on January 6, 2021

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Love any book about Italty and Tuscany...not disappointed.

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John and Wendy Noble

Reads like a teen novel

Reviewed in Canada on January 14, 2021

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There isn't much to say except that the storyline is poorly drawn and predictable.

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Carol

A fascinating, well-crafted read, I would recommend.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 11, 2018

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Having studied literature and history (particularly women’s history), Tuscan Roots combined two things that fascinate me; a well-crafted tale and an insight into a woman’s life who otherwise might have been forgotten from history.

Tuscan Roots is, on one level, a tale of two love stories, set a generation apart, as we follow the lives of Anna and, through the letters and writings she has been left, Innes – Anna’s late mother. And yet it is also so much more.

I soon found myself engaged in the lives of the lead characters, both past and present, English and Italian. The story was beautifully told, with emotive language describing the landscape, both in Tuscany and in post-war England, weaved into the narrative.

Innes’ diaries are heartfelt and honest, giving an insight into her hopes and dreams, as well as the turmoil she ultimately finds herself in. To a modern audience, as to her daughter Anna, Innes’ decisions can seem frustrating at times. However, as you read her story, learn her motives and gain a greater understanding about the circumstances of the life she finds herself in, you cannot help but feel for her – and the men and women of her generation.

While Anna’s journey through the novel is less dramatic than that of Innes’ it is a wonderful tale of self-discovery, of learning who she really is and of discovering the Tuscan Roots her mother ultimately got to share with her.

A great read, with characters who will stay with you long after the book is closed.

23 people found this helpful

Brigid P. Gallagher

Highly Recommended

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 11, 2019

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Ines Santini leaves her daughter Anna a series of diaries and a sum of money in her will. Although she was not close to her mother, Anna feels compelled to travel to the mountains of Tuscany where her mother fell in love with her father Norman, an escaped POW.
Angela Petch takes the reader back in time to WW2, to relate Ines and Norman's story, and the bravery shown by her family, who were active in the Italian resistance. The author describes the hardships the Tuscan people endured, as well as the awful atrocities that they suffered. Throughout it all their warmth shines through.
As she finally begins to understand the complexities of her parents marriage, will Anna find love with Francesco, who helped her translate her mother's diaries or will she return to her married lover Will?
I learned a huge amount about WW2 that I had not encountered in the past, and I also enjoyed learning about Tuscan food and the herbs and plants used in cooking.
Highly Recommended.

16 people found this helpful

Allie

A powerfully attractive setting and intriguing story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 4, 2017

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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.

19 people found this helpful

Linda

Excellent story and well researched

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 14, 2019

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I have never read anything by this author before but just loved the book. I am interested in any WW2 stories but know very little about what went on in Italy. I was drawn by the warmth of the Italian people, countryside, cookery and the hardships faced by the Italian people during the war. As many other reviewers have commented, the book stays with you. It is about a month since I finished it and I don't want to start another book as I am still immersed in this one. I thought the switch between the different generations of the story was so very easy as it is not always so. The story was very well researched and to say it is a first novel it is excellent. Well done Angela. I look forward to many more.

7 people found this helpful

C J W

A slow burner.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 3, 2019

Verified Purchase

I wouldn't say that is as described -an absolutely gripping emotional world war 2 novel-but I would describe it as a good book to read that was a slow burner ending quite nicely. I give it a fair 4 stars as it lacked something of other authors that I've read. Having been to Tuscany I enjoyed the ambience of the setting and mouthwatering descriptions of Italian food. I enjoyed less the childishness churlishness of some of the behaviour and interactions in Anna's story preferring Innes well documented story the latter being sad and a life wasted. The ending became suddenly too obvious but hey, the author very cleverly disguised this until the last couple of chapters by the old trick of changing names. Well done here. Would I search out this author for more tantalising reading? Probably not.

6 people found this helpful

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