Top

We have updated our Privacy Policy Please take a moment to review it. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the terms of our updated Privacy Policy.

The Battle of the Villa Fiorita

On sale

5th February 2015

Price: £10.99

Select a format

Selected: Paperback / ISBN-13: 9781844088461

Disclosure: If you buy products using the retailer buttons above, we may earn a commission from the retailers you visit.

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF BLACK NARCISSUS AND THE RIVER

‘One of our best and most captivating novelists’ PHILIP HENSHER

‘[Godden has] a genius for storytelling’ EVENING STANDARD

‘Her prose is pure, delicate, and gently witty’ NEW YORK TIMES

When their mother leaves the country to be with her lover, Hugh and Caddie Clavering’s seemingly perfect life falls apart. Devastated by the sudden, bitter dissolution of their parents’ marriage and desperate for her to come back, the children travel alone to the Villa Fiorita on Lake Garda, determined not to leave without her.

On arrival, they can tell Fanny and Rob are deeply in love, and their mother is happier than they’ve ever seen her, but the scheme lives on. Thankfully, Rob’s young daughter is only too glad to help destroy their parents’ relationship. Will Hugh and Caddie realise that their actions have consequences before it is too late?

Told with wit and great empathy against a stunning evocation of the Italian countryside, Rumer Godden’s The Battle of the Villa Fiorita marks another coming of age classic for the highly acclaimed author.

What's Inside

Read More Read Less

Reviews

Los Angeles Times
All [Godden's novels] have one important thing in common: They are beautifully and simply wrought by a woman of depth and sensitivity
New York Times
Her craftsmanship is always sure; her understanding of character is compassionate and profound; her prose is pure, delicate, and gently witty
Kirkus Reviews
A beautiful and sensitive work of fiction . . . Rumer Godden's unique quality as a creative writer is evidenced once again, along with her rare ability to fathom the intricacies of the child personality . . . There is only delight in the reading experience
Irish Times
Godden has never been out of print
Evening Standard
[Godden has] a genius for storytelling
Philip Hensher
One of our best and most captivating novelists