Two Women in Rome

 Two Women in Rome

Reviewed By  Ian Banks       August 15, 2021

 

Author  Elizabeth Buchan

Distributor:      Allen & Unwin
ISBN:                 9781786495327
Publisher:         Allen & Unwin
Release Date:   August 2021  

   Website:   https://www.allenandunwin.com

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Two Women in Rome from Elizabeth Buchan immediately transports into another world as the stories of two women, Nina and Lottie, destined never to meet, come together in the most intriguing manner, which has the capability to change the life of Lottie, if only she is brave enough.

Known for her beautify crafted stories Two Women in Rome is an exceptional work that lays bare the emotionally challenging choices that were often made during and after the years of World War II.

Lottie comes to Rome; a new bride whose husband Tom, has lived and worked in Rome for a very long time and knows what is what and how things work. Lottie is an historical archivist who has found work at the Archivio Espatriati. She discovers a 15th century painting she is drawn to and as she begins to try and trace the history of the painting, she discovers there is very little known about the woman, Nina Lawrence who gave the painting, along with several boxes of other materials, to the Museum.

She decides to investigate Nina Lawrence further and in doing so discovers a tragedy of love and passion set again the turmoil of Italy during the second world war, at a time when various political factions were pitted against each other, adding to the horror of war already well entrenched. As more comes to light on Nina’s career in espionage, the more Lottie learns about her husband Tom, his real life and previous marriage. Nobody and nothing is as it seems. How very Italian!

There are times when Lottie truly believes Nina is speaking directly with her, wanting her story to be told which causes her to begin to doubt everything is being told and when she gets a little too close to the truth, Tom has to ‘fix’ things to keep her out of danger.

While it is unusual to find historic fiction set in the 1970’s during a period most would consider as the recent past, it works, as Italy, especially Rome, is timeless; history rubbing shoulders with the world of today with true aplomb.

Told on many levels with more than one story intertwining, the tale of Two Women in Rome is a captivating look into a world that is and once was very, very real.

Fiction, History