Carrie Adams is a nurse serving in the US army during WW2. She falls in love with a surgeon but their romance is doomed as tragedy looms. Her focus is redirected on an Italian partisan and a small Jewish girl but can she keep them safe?
The Tuscan Orphan is an historical novel set mainly in Italy from 1943 onwards.
Carrie and Bill fall in love and plan to marry when they reach Rome alongside the victorious Allied troops. But victory seems as far away as ever and a rogue bomb ends their hope for a happy ending. In the aftermath, Carrie becomes focussed on the arrival of a young girl with a head injury. Partisan Vito blames himself for the girl’s accident but is in need of medical help himself.
I was swept up in the geography and history depicted in the book. It was really interesting to learn about the American nursing corps which I knew nothing about. Some of the descriptions of the medical injuries are a little upsetting but I felt this added to the authenticity. There is also a derogatory term used for Italians by a particularly unpleasant officer which could cause offense.
Carrie endures physical and emotional hardship through her experience of war. But she is also lucky enough to find love twice in terrible circumstances. The romance element of the plot is warm and uplifting in light of the backdrop of war. Other peripheral characters also enjoy love which reinforces the power of the emotion in face of adversity.
The Tuscan Orphan is an emotional historical novel which brings 1940s Italy to life.
The Tuscan Orphan
1944 – When an air raid strikes the hospital she’s been working in, Carrie’s life irrevocably changes. But as a nurse in the middle of wartime, she has no time to grieve, as she has too many people relying on her.
For resistance fighter, Vito, nothing is more important than seeking vengeance for the atrocities his fellow comrades have suffered. But when he liberates a convent, finding a group of Jewish children in hiding, he suddenly has even more to fight for.
Little Mimi is injured, scared and alone. Together Carrie and Vito vow to find her parents, a loving home. But under the shadow of war, is it wise to make promises you’re not sure you can keep?
Heartbreaking and immersive, this powerful story of the strength of the human spirit will delight fans of Kristin Hannah, Fiona Valpy and Rhys Bowen
Siobhan Daiko writes powerful and sweeping historical fiction set in Italy during the second World War, with strong women at its heart. She now lives near Venice, having been a teacher in Wales for many years.
