LITERARY FICTION
Return to Valetto by Dominic Smith, A&U
The “Saint’s Staircase” hangs from the volcanic rock cliffs of the once thriving town of Valetto, the last remnant of a house where a disciple of Francis of Assisi lived until an earthquake hit in 1695. “The spiral staircase appears to float, a twist of wrought iron eerily suspended between the chestnut groves below and the twelfth-century spire above”, writes author Dominic Smith.
This engrossing novel is packed with such evocative descriptions that immediately pull us into seductive Umbria. Here, centuries of history are layered not just into the buildings and landscape, but the people. As the novel opens, we are in 2011 in Valetto, where just 10 residents remain in a town that once boasted 3000. In WWII it was a haven for refugees, with locals working for the Resistance.
Our protagonist Hugh is a Michigan history professor and single father to Susan, who is studying economics at Oxford University. Despite his daughter’s entreaties, Hugh is unable to shake a pall of grief following the untimely death of her mother, his wife, some years before. But there is a great deal to love about this gentle man who recalls halcyon childhood summers spent in a cottage in the grounds of the family villa, visiting his three aunts and grandmother.
