Title: The Italian Girl
Author: Lucinda Riley
First published January 1, 1996
594 pages, Paperback
ISBN: 9781447257066
Rating: 4.13
Overview
At the tender age of eleven, Rosanna Menici’s life is forever changed when she meets Roberto Rossini. Their mutual love for music and each other binds them together in a relationship that is both enduring and all-consuming.
But as Rosanna delves deeper into their past, she discovers haunting secrets that threaten to tear them apart. In The Italian Girl, Lucinda Riley delivers a poignant and unforgettable tale of love, betrayal, and self-discovery.
Follow Rosanna’s journey from the back streets of Naples to the world’s most prestigious opera houses, set against a dazzling backdrop of evocative locations. This international bestseller, originally published under the name Lucinda Edmonds, will captivate readers with its powerful themes and vivid storytelling.
About the Author
Lucinda Edmonds, also known as Lucinda Riley, began her career as an actress in film, theatre, and television before publishing her first book at the age of twenty-four. Her novels have been translated into an impressive thirty-seven languages and have sold a remarkable thirty million copies globally.
She has been named a No.1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller.
Lucinda’s The Seven Sisters series is a worldwide sensation, following the story of adopted sisters and inspired by the mythology of a famous star cluster. The books have sold over fifteen million copies worldwide and are ranked as a No.1 bestseller globally.
Lucinda Edmonds and her family split their time between the United Kingdom and a farmhouse located in West Cork, Ireland, where she wrote her novels.
Editoral Review
Lucinda Riley’s “The Italian Girl” is a beautiful and engaging novel that transports readers to a world of romance, mystery, and intrigue. First published in 1996, the book showcases the author’s immaculate storytelling skills, which have been honed through years of experience writing bestselling novels.
The novel is a work of historical fiction, set in the 1960s in Italy, and the author masterfully evokes the time and place through vivid descriptions of the landscape, culture, and people of Italy. The protagonist, Rosanna Menici, is a young girl from Naples who dreams of becoming an opera singer.
Rosanna is a complex and fascinating character, and the author does a commendable job of bringing her to life on the page. The plot of the novel is both intricate and satisfying, and readers will be drawn into the web of secrets, lies, and deceit that is at the heart of the story.
The supporting cast of characters is equally well-drawn, including Rosanna’s English music teacher, Luigi de Angelis, the enigmatic and wealthy billionaire Roberto Rossini, and Rosanna’s long-lost twin sister, Isabella. One of the strengths of “The Italian Girl” is the way in which the author handles the themes of family, identity, and belonging.
Through Rosanna’s journey, we see how important these things are to our sense of self, and how the search for these things can lead us down unexpected paths. Another strength of the novel is the quality of the writing.
The author’s prose is elegant and evocative, and she has a real gift for creating a sense of atmosphere and mood. The pacing of the plot is also superb, with just the right balance of suspense and action to keep readers engaged throughout.
One of the few criticisms of the novel is that it can be somewhat predictable at times, with some of the plot twists feeling a bit too calculated. However, this is a minor quibble, and it doesn’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the novel.
Overall, “The Italian Girl” is a captivating and beautifully written novel that will appeal to fans of historical fiction, romance, and mystery. It is a book that will transport readers to another time and place, and leave them feeling enriched and inspired.
I strongly recommend this novel to anyone looking for a gripping and satisfying read. Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5.
