Bestselling author, Angela Petch, released ‘Tuscan Girl’ last week. I started to read the novel on a stormy Saturday night and awoke at dawn to finish the book. Lost stories of war, hidden treasure and buried memories gripped me. As a writer, I wanted to learn how this talented author manages to weave such captivating stories. I am honoured Angela wrote a letter to explain the inspiration behind Tuscan Girl. Sit back and enjoy a writer’s tour of Italy.
In the Tuscan Apennines, where I spend six months of every year, I can step out of our front door straight into wild countryside. Our area is less populated after post war exodus, when people left for work abroad and in big cities and so I come across many ruined houses along the mule tracks that crisscross our hills and valleys.
Each abandoned dwelling holds a potential story and my imagination goes into overdrive, trying to guess what might have gone on within these walls, now strangled with weeds.
When I was seven years old, my father accepted a job in Rome as deputy head of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. They were formative years and I picked up Italian like a little sponge. I’ve wheedled out stories behind these houses by chatting to elderly friends and through my research. We are lucky to have the national archive of diaries in nearby Pieve Santo Stefano and I’ve spent hours poring over handwritten resources.
One of my friends is Bruno Vergni, one hundred years old last January 13th. I met him seven years ago on one of my hikes. I stopped to chat as he pruned an apple tree and, to my huge surprise, he responded in English. He explained that he had been a POW in Nottingham, having been captured in Libya early in the war.
I researched more about Bruno’s war and he is now one of the main characters in “The Tuscan Girl” (albeit tweaked with my own ideas). He now lives with his son, but in my story I have placed him in one of the semi-deserted hamlets called Tramarecchia.
A favourite walk is up to the beautiful Alp of the Moon, (1,400 metres). We stopped to picnic by a pile of stones and read a sign posted by the local partisan association. Up here, in the summer of 1944, a group of young men planned their resistance missions. After researching and meeting a local historian, Alvaro Tacchini, more ideas for my book were gleaned.
An abandoned chapel, two houses on the outskirts of the village, empty because of a brothers’ squabble, the outline of a Medici fortress… all ruins waiting to be written about in future books.
Angela’s explanation connected me to Alba who treks around the remote Tuscan villages and rebuilds the ruins in her paintings. She discovers ‘The paths…like arteries leading to the heart of new stories.’ I enjoyed treading these paths with Alba and look forward to more stories.
wonderful post 🙂 Would you be so kind as to guest blog post for my site? if you’re so inclined, here’s a link to general guidelines: https://wp.me/p6OZAy-1eQ
Great post – I love Angela’s books!
Yes, Angela’s books are truly wonderful.
I enjoyed this post and now I can see why Angela’s characters are so vivid and captivating. And her ability to describe the scenery and senses of Italy- I’m sure it’s even better than being there! Thanks Jessie and Angela!
I completely agree with you. You really do feel as if you are there with the characters.
Thank you Jessie and Angela. I really enjoyed Angela’s previous books set in Italy, and Tuscan Girl is on my tbr list.
You won’t be disappointed. I read it over 2 days.
Thank you so much. I hope you enjoy it. x
Your story sounds fascinating enough to be made into its own book! Love the premise behind this one and Bruno is proof positive of the benefits of a Mediterranean diet.
Trish, Angela has written three books inspired by the setting. You are right, Angela’s own story could also be a novel. Great idea.
You’ve whetted my appetite for a new idea now. Grazie!
It would be a great story.
Fascinating article. So interesting to hear of your move to Italy as a child. My parents moved to Naples when I was 11, but alas, being sent back to England to boarding school, I ever learnt to speak Italian. Will seek the book out now!
Such a shame you didn’t get a chance to learn the beautiful language. Thanks for sharing your experience.
How interesting, Jenny – was that with the navy? I went to school for a couple of years in Rome but, in despair at the poor (English School) teaching, I was sent back to boarding school too. However, my parents deliberately chose a house for us in the suburbs far from other English children and took us here, there and everywhere, so that we developed a love for Italy. I went on to study Italian at university, find work in Sicily and meet a wonderful half-Italian boy, to whom I’ve been married now for over 42 years. EEK – getting old. Thanks for your comment. Hope you enjoy the story!
Yes, that’s right, with the navy. Looking forward to reading the Tuscan Girl.
Yes, that’s right, with the navy.
Thank you so much for featuring me, Jessie. I’m looking forward to returning to Italy to walk my ideas and thoughts. I’m writing another Italian novel and need to be there to properly catch the atmosphere. Although I also use photos and Google to help, it’s not the same. I need to smell the scents and feel the breeze.
The sense of place is powerful and soothing in the book. Your style is powerful and poetic.