The Tuscan Contessa

Penguin Viking, Jul 2020

ONE WAR. TWO WOMEN. WILL THEY BE ABLE TO SAVE THE ONES THEY LOVE?

A sweeping new novel from the number one Sunday Times bestselling author of The Tea Planter’s Wife, available for pre-order now

In 1945, Contessa Sofia de’ Corsi’s peaceful Tuscan villa among the olive groves is upturned by the sudden invasion of German soldiers. Desperate to fight back, she agrees to shelter a wounded British pilot in her home, keeping him hidden from her husband Lorenzo – knowing that she is putting all of their lives at risk.

When Maxine, an Italian-American working for the resistance, arrives on Sofia’s doorstep, the pair forge an uneasy alliance. Feisty, independent Maxine promised herself never to fall in love. But when she meets a handsome partisan named Marco, she realizes it’s a promise she can’t keep…

Before long, the two women find themselves entangled in a dangerous game with the Nazis. Will they be discovered? And will they both be able to save the ones they love?

‘Dinah Jefferies has a remarkable gift for conjuring up another time and place with lush descriptions, full of power and intensity‘ Kate Furnivall