Modern Italy

A concise, star-studded retelling of Italy's past, from Caesar and Augustus to da Vinci and Michelangelo, tracing the story of a country with prodigious global influence—from a foremost author of historic Italy.

When the Mayor of a picturesque Italian town launches a new scheme to rejuvenate the community, his advertisement is read with interest and excitement by many. Zara is in her thirties and desperate to get on the property ladder. Tim and Lynda are retiring and need a project. Some are looking for a peaceful bolthole. Others hope to make a profit, start a business, escape a dull life or an unhappy relationship. And there is someone who just might be hiding their true motivation...

It is not an easy job to draw the border between the history of Italy and the history of Rome. In so many places, the two political and geographical entities collide. They wouldn’t be possible without each other, but they each have their own story. Rome’s history is only a small fragment of Italy’s history. Although it is just a city, Rome was the birthplace of the republic, a great empire, and notable philosophers, poets, and artists.

Invite Hannibal Lecter into the palace of your mind and be invited into his mind palace in turn. Note the similarities in yours and his, the high vaulted chambers of your dreams, the shadowed halls, the locked storerooms where you dare not go, the scrap of half-forgotten music, the muffled cries...

Experience three thousand years of captivating European history, exploring the epic rise and fall of mighty empires. Perfect for your daily commute or educational listening, this fast-paced historical overview plunges you into the vibrant mosaic of ancient settlements, dazzling city-states, and...

From Venetian canals to Vatican conclaves, New York Times correspondent Jason Horowitz takes you on a tour of the real Italy. Italy’s deep history, stunning landscapes and glorious food have uniquely captured our imagination. In The Italian Job, Jason Horowitz, a longtime Rome bureau chief for...

Maisie Knight had it all. A gorgeous husband. A successful business. A beautiful home. Until one day, after walking into the storeroom of their shop, she loses it all at once - catching her husband cheating on her with the girl from checkout 3. So when she wins a holiday to Italy, a week under the Tuscan sun couldn’t come soon enough. She treats best friends Cheryl and Emma to a girls’ trip, and the terracotta-roofed Villa Marisa on a rustic farm awaits them.

Invite Hannibal Lecter into the palace of your mind and be invited into his mind palace in turn. Note the similarities in yours and his, the high vaulted chambers of your dreams, the shadowed halls, the locked storerooms where you dare not go, the scrap of half-forgotten music, the muffled cries...

“[An] elegantly layered exploration of Europe’s past and future . . . a multifaceted masterpiece.”—The Wall Street Journal “A lovely, personal journey around the Adriatic, in which Robert Kaplan revisits places and peoples he first encountered decades ago.”—Peter Frankopan, author...

From an acclaimed historian, the definitive story of the Venetian Ghetto and the emergence of modern antisemitism. In the early sixteenth century, amidst the ruins of war and mounting religious hatred, the world’s first Jewish “ghetto” was established in Venice. Constrained in cramped...

Convulsed by a civilizational crisis, the great thinkers of the Renaissance set out to reconceive the nature of society. Corrupt and reckless tyrants sowing discord and ruling through fear; elites who prized wealth and status over the common good; military leaders waging endless wars. Their solution was simple and radical. They would rebuild their city, and their civilization, by transforming the moral character of its citizens. Soulcraft, they believed, was a precondition of successful statecraft.

The first novel from award-winning author Gianfranco Calligarich to be published in English, Last Summer in the City is a witty and despairing classic of Italian literature. Biting, tragic, and endlessly quotable, this translated edition features an introductory appreciation from longtime fan...

Mi chiamo Fabio Fabiano e sono un giallista siciliano. Ho scritto diversi romanzi che raccontano vicende che sono frutto della mia fantasia, ma osservando la realtà siciliana mi sono accorto che è intrisa di eventi che farebbero impallidire i migliori scrittori e drammaturghi. Dopo aver studiato i documenti del passato ho raccolto queste storie vere, avvolte dal mistero, per raccontarvele.

When Lorenzo de Medici seized control of the Florentine Republic in 1512, he fired the Secretary to the Second Chancery of the Signoria, Niccolo Machiavelli, which set in motion a fundamental change in the way we think about politics. Suddenly finding himself without a job after 14 years of...

Two sisters. One secret. A journey to learn who they really are… The instant Irish number one bestseller! ‘I really, really loved it. I think it's her best book so far, written with maturity and great compassion. The characters are very relatable, Lou was my favourite … I enjoyed this book...

A Fresh Pick at Fresh Fiction When she learns she has a big Italian family she never knew about, a lonely woman travels to Sicily for a life-changing summer in the new romance from New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst. Aurora York had it all together: loving parents, a steady...

Brought to you by Penguin. I want to write a book about Vilhelm’s room and the events which took place in it, or arose from it; those that led to Lise’s death, which I have survived only so that I might write down the story of her and Vilhelm... The ripples from a breakup radiate outwards...

A delicious novel from Sunday Times bestseller Heidi Swain: ‘Heidi’s known for her feel-good factor and this story is a delight’ New! Magazine ‘A charming, summery read’ The People’s Friend ‘A summer trip to Wynbridge will never disappoint. Swain’s writing as always is so...

The global bestselling superstar ‘poet of physics’ returns with a dazzling philosophical exploration of our place in the universe What can we really know about the world around us? Or is there beauty in daring not to know? With clarity and lightness, acclaimed physicist Carlo Rovelli takes...

Four plays by the award-winning Italian playwright and innovator Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello was an Italian playwright, novelist, and short-story writer and winner of the 1934 Nobel Prize for Literature. In the first performance of Six Characters in Search of an Author, an enraged Rome...