The Florence Letter by Anita Chapman #BooksOnTour #TheFlorenceLetter @neetschapman @bookouture #BookReview

 

Looking out over the twinkling city lights of Florence, Claire thinks of the letter that has brought her here. Written by a woman who escaped the Blitz, it holds a secret kept for a lifetime… but can Claire make the woman’s dying wish come true?

Claire arrives at her new job as researcher at a grand English country house, nursing a broken heart. But tucked into the back of a long-forgotten drawer she finds a letter written in an elegant hand. It tells of a wartime secret about the beautiful Lady Violet – whose passionate affair with an Italian prisoner of war scandalised the village and ended in tragedy.

Captivated, Claire promises to find Violet’s daughter, Tabitha, and reunite her with a priceless piece of her mother’s jewellery. With only the name of an Italian bakery, Pasticceria Mancini, to guide her, and the help of her handsome neighbour Jim, Claire travels to Tabitha’s last known location – Florence.

Winding through the colourful streets, the sun warm on her bare shoulders, a tantalising scent of freshly baked bread floats on the air and Claire’s heart leaps at the sight of an ageing bakery sign: Mancini. Although she learns that Tabitha hasn’t been there for many years, Claire refuses to give up. And as she and Jim talk late into the night over glasses of local chianti, Claire looks into his piercing blue eyes and finds herself growing closer to him…

But when they finally track Tabitha down, it isn’t the happy reunion she expected and Claire is left reeling in the wake of discovering a devastating family secret.

Violet’s story has an ending – but will the truth lead to forgiveness, or will it only bring more pain? And will Claire be forced to walk away from a chance of happiness with Jim at last?

Escape to Italy in this gorgeous story of past and present colliding. Readers of Lucinda Riley and Fiona Valpy will be utterly enchanted by this sweeping, romantic page-turner.

The Florence Letter by Anita Chapman was published on 19 June 2024 by Bookouture. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Blog Tour. 

I read and reviewed Anita Chapman's first novel; The Venice Secret, in March last year. I loved it, it was one of my favourite books of the year. I was delighted when she secured a publishing deal with Bookouture after the success of her self-published novel, and have been looking forward to The Florence Secret for a while. 

Once again, this clever and talented author has presented a dual time novel that will captivate the reader. Set mainly in Gatley Hall, a stately home in the Surrey countryside, we are introduced to two main female characters. Margaret who left London during the Blitz of World War II to take up a position as a lady's maid at the hall, and in the modern part of the story; Claire who has also escaped the big city to work on a special exhibition at the hall. 

At the beginning of the novel Margaret is 91 years old and writing yet another letter to the owners of Gatley Hall. She has been desperate to track down Tabitha, a character from her past. Whilst Margaret has written many times, she has never had a response. When Claire discovers the latest letter stuffed in a drawer of paperwork, she is intrigued and becomes determined to solve the mystery of the missing woman. 

Anita Chapman really does her research so well, she combines historical fact with this beautiful fictional story and expertly interweaves the modern day story too. I particularly enjoyed Margaret's story, the details about the hierarchy of servants was fascinating, the absolute dedication that is expected from a lady's maid, and the general running of the household is fascinating. 

The modern day tale is also very well presented, Claire is a woman who has experienced difficult times and her adjustment to life in the country takes some time. She often does things that make me squirm, but she's a determined character and driven to find the answers for Margaret.

Claire's neighbour Jim is the only main male character and whilst their first meeting is quite awkward, they soon form a relationship. Jim and Claire travel to Florence in search of Tabitha and the author's descriptions of this beautiful city are just breathtaking. 

Although divided by decades, Margaret and Claire's stories are similar, and I thought this was exceptionally clever of the author. The reader compares and contrasts the differences faced by women of different eras who are dealing with issues that mirror each other. 

Another fabulous piece of historical fiction from a talented author. I look forward to her next book. 

Anita Chapman's first novel, The Venice Secret was published in March 2023 and spent six weeks in the overall Amazon UK Kindle Top 100, reaching number thirty-eight. The Venice Secret has had over five million Kindle Unlimited pages read and received more than 4000 Amazon reviews since publication. Anita’s next novel, The Florence Letter was published by Bookouture on 24 June 2024 as ebook, paperback and audiobook. 

Anita enjoyed writing stories from a young age, and won a local writing competition when she was nine years old. Encouraged by this, she typed up a series of stories about a mouse on her mum’s typewriter and sent them to Ladybird. She received a polite rejection letter, her first.

Many of Anita’s summers growing up were spent with her family driving to Italy, and she went on to study French and Italian at university. As part of her degree, Anita lived in Siena for several months where she studied and au paired, and she spent a lot of time travelling around Italy in her twenties.

Anita likes to read journals and diaries from the past, and one of her favourite pastimes is visiting art galleries and country houses. Her first published novel, The Venice Secret is inspired by her mother taking her to see the Canalettos at The National Gallery in London as a child.

Since 2015, Anita has worked as a social media manager, training authors on social media, and helping to promote their books. She’s run several courses in London and York, and has worked as a tutor at Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College.

Website: anitachapman.com (also found at neetsmarketing.com).

Twitter: at neetschapman

Facebook Page: Anita Chapman 

Instagram: at neetschapman