Villa in Italy

By: Elizabeth Edmondson

Narrated by: Nicolette McKenzie

Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Marvellously atmospheric tale of strangers summoned to a grand but neglected villa on the Italian coast. Each of them has been named in a will, but nobody knows their benefactress....

Four very different people are named in a will. Delia, an opera singer robbed of her voice by illness; George, an idealistic scientist who cannot face what his skills have created; Marjorie, desperately poor and unable to dislodge her writer’s block; and Lucius, ostensibly in control but whose personal life is in chaos. All are summoned to the Villa Dante, home of the late Beatrice Malaspina. But who was she?

While they wait to find out, the villa begins to work its seductive magic. With its faded frescoes, overgrown garden, and magnificent mediaeval tower, it is unlike anywhere they have been before.

Slowly four characters who have gone to great lengths to hide their troubles find that change - and even hope - is possible after all. But the mysterious Beatrice has a devastating secret to reveal that will affect them all....

A beautiful evocation of Italy in the aftermath of World War Two and the personal consequences of living through such a time and a celebration of humankind’s ability to heal and learn to love again, this most absorbing novel will win Elizabeth Edmondson a host of new fans.

©2006 Elizabeth Edmondson (P)2015 Audible, Ltd

Everything I look for in a book

I loved everything about this book: plot, characters, setting, time period, and references. It was completely engrossing and a wonderful mystery that kept me guessing through most of the book. I listened to half of it in the car and then my trip was over, so I bought the Kindle version and read the rest of it because I couldn't "put it down."

great story, meh narration

I didn't really like the narrator. Her voice sounded older, so at first I thought Delia and Jessica were older ladies. It took a while to get past that. The story is quite interesting, though.

Wonderful mystery!

A little bit of a cross between Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None”, Elizabeth Von Arnim’s “The Enchanted April”, and Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House”, but without the dead bodies or ghosts. Wonderful descriptions of the Italian atmosphere, intriguing plot, and interesting characters. This is a winner!

Exceptional narration

A beautiful story with well developed characters and exquisite narration. Elizabeth and Nicolette are a fantastic duo!

Story dragged on

I struggled with it. Background stories dragged on but about halfway through just when I was about to give up I got intrigued and enjoyed the second half of the book

Skip this one ....

This book was EXTREMELY difficult to get through! The story was very slow and I found myself zoning out repeatedly while trying to get through it. The set up was very laborious and I read through to the end simply so that I could understand what the point was to all of it!

The narrator was AWFUL, which didn’t make the book any easier to get through. I rarely find a book I don’t like and I am often hesitant to write a poor review, but this one was abysmally disappointing.

Brava to both author and reader!

That was an enchanting story! And perhaps the best reader I've heard! Bravissima! Loved everything!

Fun read

liked the story line but at times found myself soothed into sleep by the calm voice. Found it was my go to book when I was having a hard day .

Best listen of 2021 so far!

This book had a great backdrop, lots of drama, great characters, and a mystery to the very end! I was immensely enthralled. I would have never guessed the connections.

Struggled to finish but wanted to know the connect

Struggled to finish but wanted to know the connection! The descriptions of the sea, sand and surroundings made extra long and a bit boring but I know it was necessary to the story and to connect Beatrice ....otherwise, a beautiful story.