The Artist in Residence - Tapa dura

'The House by the Sea has it all: secrets, mystery, passionate love affairs fueled by drama and determined by fate, and the grace notes of fairytales - evil stepmothers, cranky stepdaughters, and redemption in the wake of understanding in the hands of the great painter Rafa Santoro. Santa Montefiore is a wonder, you will not be able to put this novel down. Unforgettable!' Adriana Trigiani 'Like her countrywomen Barbara Taylor Bradford and Penny Vincenzi, Montefiore excels at juxtaposing the opulent with the ordinary in delicately woven tales that seamlessly traverse borders and span decades' Carol Haggas, Booklist (US) 'Two stories, two generations, and two beautiful European locales are neatly gift-wrapped into one sumptuous tale of love, loss, and redemption ... luxurious and romantic depictions of scenic Tuscany and the beautiful English coast' US Publishers Weekly (May) Marina Turner is advertising for an artist in residence to spend the summer teaching residents of her Devon country house hotel how to paint. Desperate to attract enough guests to Hotel Polzanze to stave off financial disaster, she is thrilled when talented and handsome Rafa Santoro turns up. Sure enough, people flock to the charming painter, including Marina's miserable stepdaughter, Clementine. But Rafa has a hidden agenda, Marina has secrets, and Clementine seems unable to let go of past hurts. It is a testament to Montefiore's talent as a writer that the initially very unpleasant Clementine becomes more likable as the novel progresses and that change is convincingly shown to come about when Clementine finally allows herself to be happy. VERDICT Montefiore (The French Gardener) has written another lovely fairy tale for grown-ups, intertwining two stories separated by time and place. Fans of women's fiction will be moved by the characters and eager to find out what happens to them. Lush descriptions of gardens in Tuscany and Devon add to the novel's charm, and the beautiful cover is sure to attract the eye.--Elizabeth Mellett, Brookline P.L., MA, Library Journal Review

An irresistibly compelling from the internationally bestselling author Ten-year-old Floriana is captivated by the beauty of the magnificent Tuscan villa that overlooks the sea just outside her small village. She likes to spy from the crumbling wall into the gardens, and imagine that one day she'll escape her meagre existence and live there. One day, Dante, the son of the villa's powerful industrialist owner, invites her inside. From that moment on Floriana knows that her destiny is there, with him. But as they grow up they cross an unseen line, jeopardising the very thing they hold most dear. Decades later and hundreds of miles away, a beautiful old country house hotel on England's Devon coast has fallen on hard times. Its owner, Marina, advertises for an artist-in-residence to stay the summer and teach the guests how to paint. Rafael Santoro is charismatic and wise, and soon begins to pacify the discord in her family. However, Rafa is not who he seems. He has his own agenda. Whether to destroy, to seduce, or to heal, it is certain to affect them all. Spanning four decades and sweeping from the Italian countryside to the English coast, this new story by Santa Montefiore is a moving and mysterious tale of love, forgiveness and the past revealed.