‘The Stolen Letter’ by Clara Benson is a historical fiction book that is set in Italy and Geneva. It begins just prior to the Second World War.
We meet Stella, her father has died and she has travelled to Florence to stay with her stepmother. Her stepmother has a hidden agenda for Stella’s invite, Stella’s father was an art dealer and had hidden artwork away. He wrote a letter to Stella telling her where it was but Stella has not received it and her stepmother wants her in Italy to find out what Stella knows. Stella arrives in Italy and she immediately falls for Ted, an American journalist who is arrogant and wild, but she can’t help herself. Then war breaks out and Stella finds herself stuck in Italy for the foreseeable future.
A story that manages to cover every emotion known to us. We are immersed in broken families, Nazi brutality, resistance fighters, domestic violence. We see what the Italian people had to endure during the war, something I have never really considered in all this time. Among all these horrific things the Nazi’s continue to make everything worse by trying to strip Italy and the citizens of their artwork and treasures, something they did in every country they invaded, The Netherlands, France, Poland. Stamping their cruelty over Europe.
Such an emotional book with the glimmer of love even in the brutality and tragedy of war. Again, Clara Benson has written a beautiful, riveting story that swept me to Italy and kept me there until the final page.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for this book so I could write this review today.
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