10 Sicilian Summer Reads (Fiction)


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So you have packed your passport, swimsuit and suntan lotion, then you are ready for your dream holiday in Sicily, but what to read on the beach?

Here (in no particular order) are ten of my favourite fiction Sicily inspired books.


The Villa by Rosanna Ley 

When Tess received a solicitor’s letter inviting her to claim an inheritance, Villa Sirena which is a house perched on a clifftop on Sicily, she is stunned. Her only link to the island is through her mother Flavia, who left Sicily during World War II and cut all contact with her family. Initially resistant to encouraging Tess going back to her roots, Flavia realises the secrets from her past are about to be revealed and decides to try to explain her actions.

The Island Hideaway by Louise Candlish

Eleanor is distraught after breaking up with her fiancé Will and decides to follow him to the island hideaway where he is on holiday with the woman who took her place. But on the shimmering sun drenched Aeolian Island of Panarea, distractions come in many forms, including a fellow hotel guest with secrets of his own.


The Out of Office Girl by Nicola Doherty

Alice is having a rubbish summer. She is terrified of her boss, her career is stalling and she has just been dumped by text message. When her boss is taken ill, Alice is sent on the work trip of a lifetime to a villa in Sicily to edit the autobiography of a Hollywood bad boy. But it is not all yachts, nightclubs and Camparis. Alice is out of the office and into a whole lot of trouble.

La Cucina by Lily Prior

A delicious novel set in Sicily about a shy librarian with a broken heart whose passion for cooking leads to an unexpected love affair. The story is a celebration of all things sensual and creates intense images, colours and fragrances all reflecting the splendour of the Sicilian countryside in which it is set.

The Food of Love Cookery School by Nicky Pellegrino

Luca Amore runs a cooking school in a baroque Sicilian mountain town. He has taught many people how to cook the dishes passed down to him by generations of Amore women, as he readies himself for yet another course he expects it to be much like all the others. They will cook, visit vineyards and olive groves, eat together, become friends and after a fortnight they will head home to whatever corner of the globe they came from. But there is a surprise in store for Luca. This time there are four women booked into The Food of Love Cookery School and each one is looking for something more than cooking skills from their time in Sicily.


 Mills and Boons Latin Lovers; Hot Blooded Sicilians

“Raised under the scorching summer sun of Sicily, these dark and handsome hot-blooded men are irresistible!” Three short Sicilian influenced Mills and Boons Stories. Not quite 50 Shades of Grey but worth it for a romance read.



Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D H Lawrence

The story of how the wife of Sir Clifford Chatterley responds when her husband returns from the war paralysed from the waist down and of the tender love which then develops between her and her husband’s  gamekeeper ….. Ok so it is not about Sicily, but D H Lawrence did write this whilst he lived in Taormina and supposedly drew inspiration from a local English noble woman who fell in love with her Sicilian gardener.
The Inspector Montalbano Mysteries by Andrea Camilleri

The bestselling novels about Inspector Montalbano, featured in BBC4’s popular series, who operates within Sicily’s precarious justice system, immersed in a whole lot of murder, betrayal, temptation and politics. The latter proving as dangerous as any of the former.  Montalbano solves crimes in the fictional town of Vigata, balancing his relationship with girlfriend Livia and often failing to resist the seductive qualities of fine Sicilian food. Watch this space for a new post, In the Footsteps of Inspector Montalbano, 


 The Leopard by Tomasi di Lampedusa

In the Spring of 1860, Fabrizio, the charismatic Prince of Salina, still rules over thousands of acres and hundreds of people, including his own numerous family, in mingled splendour and squalor. Then comes Garibaldi’s landing in Sicily and the Prince must decide whether to resist the forces of change or come to terms with them. The Leopard remains an all time classic.



The Odyssey by Homer

The epic tale of Odysseus and his ten year journey home after the Trojan War. Confronted in Sicily and its islands by natural and supernatural threats, shipwrecks, battles, monsters and the sea god Poseidon. Odysseus must test his bravery to the full if he is to reach his homeland safely and overcome the obstacles. Homer's The Odyssey is an epic that has endured thousands of years and is a timeless Penguin Classics. 


So now sit back, relax and enjoy reading in the Sicilian Summer Sun ….

Next Blog post ... My Ten Favourite Non-Fiction Sicilian Reads



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