Tuscan Rose

By Belinda Alexandra

A big, luscious, can't-put-it-down saga from bestseller Belinda Alexandra, a story of tragedy, romance and mystery, set against the beauty of Florence in the terrifying years of Mussolini.

A tale of sacrifice and reward, of beauty and horror ... and of redemption.

A mysterious stranger known as 'the Wolf' leaves an infant with the sisters of Santo Spirito. A tiny silver key hidden in her wrappings is the one clue to the child's identity ...

When Rosa turns fifteen, she must leave the nuns who have raised her and become governess to the daughter of an aristocrat and his strange, frightening wife. their house is elegant but cursed, and Rosa - blessed with gifts beyond her considerable musical talents - is torn between her desire to know the truth and her fear of its repercussions. Meanwhile, the hand of Fascism curls around beautiful Italy, threatening her citizens.

In the face of unimaginable hardship, will Rosa's intelligence, intuition and her extraordinary capacity for love be enough to ensure her survival?

PRAISE FOR TUSCAN ROSE:
'A wonderful story that had me reading until the early hours of the morning' Good Reading

'Impeccable research into the terrible times of Mussolini's Italy makes this story of sacrifice and salvation unforgettable' Woman's Day

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: Jun 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9780730446026

Belinda Alexandra

Belinda Alexandra has been published to wide acclaim in Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Holland, Poland, Norway, and Spain. She is the daughter of a Russian mother and Australian father and has been an intrepid traveller since her youth. Her love of other cultures and languages is matched by her passion for her home country, Australia, where she is a volunteer rescuer and caregiver for the NSW Wildlife Information and Rescue Service.

Reviews for Tuscan Rose

[patrizia1710 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a lovely book to read. I found it hard to put it down once I started. A bit of romance, mystery and an adventure into the uncertain with the very brave and much to be admired Rosa. Would like to read more by this author.

[corallm-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well written, intriguing. Story of an orphan from 1914 onwards. Captivating.

[bhryk0 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

12/04/11 - I am on disc 5 of this book. So far I am finding it a bit long winded and I wonder a bit about the story - it started off well - A man delivers a baby, Rosa, to a convent where she is brought up until she is 15 when a position is found for her as a governess with a prestigeous Italian family. When a tradegy occurs for some silly reason in my mind (did this really happen in these times) Rosa is taken to prison and left there with no trial for acts against the govenment and she is only 15. At 16 she is raped while in prison and with her naivity she doesn't realise the act has made her pregnant until she is well and truly on her way.At last I have finished this book - it was 19 CD's and when you only listen in car it took awhile to finish it. It was worth it.I will leave the early part of the story here. After Rosa has her child and manages to get released from prison, she tries to find a job teaching music but after only a trial day that doesn't work then she meets Luciano who is part of a performing family and they ask her to join them. She falls in love with Luciano and also finds a job in a furiture shop (when the troupe is not touring) with Alessandro, who she eventually marries. War breaks out and there is a lot of tragedy and Rosa becomes a nurse then a Partisan fighting against the Fascists and Germans with Luciano's flock. For me it was an interesting story, if not possibly a little long. I have not read much about Italy during WWII so this one a learning. I really enjoyed the main characters and I thought the twist at the end was very good. I didn't see it coming.

[boabflower_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoy Ms Alexandra's books, although they are all a little long winded, I usually end up learning something, which for me is always a plus. This book was easy to plough through, the relationships were a little.far fetched but did help the plot along nicely.

[daptolibrary · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It is safe to say that our group has found, and is paying the price, for reading good fiction. Because once you have turned down that road there is no going back! Popular fiction just does not make the cut anymore, and such has been the fate of this month’s book Tuscan Rose by Belinda Alexander.There was a long list of complaints; characters underdeveloped, errors, too long, too many coincidences and full of mawkish sentimentality. And a number of us found the main characters psychic ability very annoying.Thankfully this did not impede the discussion and our sense of humour saw us through. A few relented and admitted that Rose was not all that bad, for an easy, light read. And the war history component edged on the interesting. Alexander has a number of titles released, much along these same lines, but I don’t think you’ll find any of our group reaching for them in a hurry.