This is obviously a well researched novel which provides a very real sense of the experience of the latter years of the second world war in Italy. The factual timeline at the beginning is particularly helpful for readers like me who are unfamiliar with this period. Overall this is a good narrative, but I found the plot development a bit ' clunky' in places and turned back a couple of pages to see if I'd missed something. The title character and the Italian members of the cast of characters were well drawn, but I didn't really believe in Maxine. So, a bit of a curate's egg this one.

Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
Having read most of this author's work I was delighted to have arc .
Iam never disappointed reading this ladies books utterly sumptuous . Are the first words that come to mind. Cant praise her enough.

I have read a couple of Dinah Jeffries book and have really enjoyed the ones I have read so I was thankful to receive The Tuscan Contessa. I love Jefferies descriptions of places and times. Well researched and a beautiful yet powerful storyline.

Thank you NetGalley. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Well I read this book and I quite enjoyed it
Did not enjoy as much as all of Dinah’s other books but that is not to say it is not a good book
I found it quite hard going and felt that the storyline never really got going or reached its peak.
Did not really grab me but I persevered.
I do enjoy books of this genre ,but I just felt it did not have Dinahs usual glowing descriptions of places and bygone times.
I agree it was about the war and colourful descriptions of this part of history are not generally happy times but it just did not do it for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Books UK for this advanced reader's copy in return for my honest review. I'm a big fan of Dinah Jeffries and I've read all her previous work. Her writing really draws me in with her stunning sense of place and time. Her characters are engaging and I find myself genuinely caring for them. This book was set during WW2 which is an added bonus as I'm a big fan of books written in this era. This book was simply stunning.

I am a big fan of Dinah Jefferies and have enjoyed her previous books immensely. The Tuscan Contessa is set in Italy during WW2 and focuses on two women's resistance efforts against the Germans. I love books set during this era and found the story to be a delightful read that had me booked from the very start. The book moves at a thrilling pace and has a very satisfying conclusion.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this arc .

A story about worn-torn Italy. A part of history I really hadn't known a lot about and like all of Dinah Jefferies books it makes you want to go and find out more. The book takes you into the horrors of how life was for the Italians through the story of Contessa Sofia de' Corsi's peaceful Tuscan home which was upturned by the arrival of German soldiers. Maxine, an american-italian working for the resistance arrives and forges an alliance with Sofia and between them a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the Nazi's starts. A death early on in the book really shook me, it felt like real life which of course it was reflecting and really made me want the characters I was routing for make it to the end of the book for a happy ending. It really isn't that sort of book, although it was written in a way that really captured the history and truly awful events without it seeming like fiction. I didn't end up in tears (I often do!) however it truly pulled at my heartstrings and I ended up feeling I'd learnt a lot about a time in history that should be better known to all.

A beautifully and well researched book that stays with you for a long time after.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy in return for an honest review

Powerful, moving, sad. Some of the words and feelings to describe this wartime story set in occupied Italy.
The story gives us a good idea of how dangerous life was for those in the Resistance movement and indeed, those trying to live their lives amidst the dangers and uncertainties of war.
Everyone lost loved ones and the sadness and futility of war is well portrayed in this book. The characters of this story battle to care for each other and survive. The power of the storyline set a fast pace and I increasingly found myself racing through their fears and dangers with them and hoping for a good ending.
That began to look increasingly unlikely but the story will reveal its outcomes to those who read it. Very well recommend.

Italian partisans resist their conquerors in war-torn Italy

Dinah Jefferies' novels always have a strong sense of place and time, whether it's 1930s Burma or 1940s Italy. Sofia and her husband Lorenzo live in an ancient castello in war-time Tuscany. Sofia is anti-Mussolini. When James, a young British parachutist, is shot down she keeps him safe. Beautiful, independent American- Italian Maxine enchants him and they begin to fall for each other. James had joined up because his brother, Marco, had been killed by the fascists. In this atmosphere of oppression and terror, who can they trust? Is there a traitor in their midst? A strong story of love, fear and treachery in a beautiful setting. If you enjoyed The Tea Planter's Wife or The Missing Sister, you'll love this.

Dinah Jefferies brings colour to a period of Italy’s wartime history erstwhile only observed in B&W by the newsreels courtesy of British Pathé and others. From her descriptions of the glorious countryside, magnificent views and foodstuffs previously enjoyed, we can almost hear the church bell from across the valley, smell the woodsmoke from the bread ovens and snooze to the cicadas. The uncomfortable swing of allegiances within Italian family life and society at large are also explored.
The romantic relationship between Sofia and Lorenzo form the anchor of the story and the conclusion too but we meet some heroes like Maxine and Marco, James the radio operator and Carla, the strong matriarchal figure who tries to keep the ship on an even and well fortified keel.
As far as I am aware this is the first time Dinah has centred a novel in Europe and from the Author’s Note it is apparent how much Italy has influenced her choice of country. However, it didn't have quite the magic of her warmer climes novels for me.
On a technical note, I do not think the B2 radio shipped with a rechargeable power supply. It had the ability to work from a 6v DC source (from a vehicle battery) or from a locally available mains supply.

Dinah Jefferies is one of my favourite authors and yet again I was not disappointed! A brilliant story that I could not put down. I fell in love with the characters. Thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to review this title.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Penguin Books (UK) for the ARC.
I really enjoyed this book. Set in Italy during WW11, the Germans occupy the cities but out in the beautiful countryside surrounding the Castello de'Corsi village the woods and hills are occupied by the Partisans, using raiding parties to attempt to disrupt German supplies and if they can, capture food and weapons.

Countess Sofia de'Corsi and husband Lorenzo are deeply in love but have no children. Lorenzo works for the Ministry of Agriculture in Rome and has been asked to supply the allies with information regarding food stocks and supplies - something he is willing to do. He sometimes disappears for days or weeks on end, but Sofia doesn't worry, she has enough to do looking after the villagers, making sure they have enough to eat. She joins in with the local network of women working to make clothing and blankets for the hidden Partisans.

Maxine Capriani, an Italian-American, has been recruited to contact the resistance and provide details of their needs as regards weapons, food etc to the allies. She needs to meet up with a radio operator, James, who parachuted into the Castello area - with disastrous consequences. Marco is her main contact and in the most dangerous of times they begin to fall in love.

Sofia becomes adept at hiding things and people. Maxine is forever practical and unwaveringly confident in her necessary interactions with the Germans. They form a close alliance to protect the Partisans and get information to the allies. Amongst all this they had to contend with the brutal behaviour of the local Blackshirts.

As the ending of the war begins Lorenzo has disappeared - Sofia is devastated; she lived only for him.
Throughout the war years she would survey the beauty of the countryside to give her hope for a better future. But now - with Lorenzo gone?

This is a disturbing, but also an uplifting, fictional account of Italian resistance, their losses and gains. The factors leading to this story are well documented at the beginning of the book, giving the context of the occupation. These may be fictional characters but they are truly believable.

Thoroughly recommended.

As always, Dinah Jefferies does not disappoint. This is a really engrossing novel peopled with empathetic characters and set in World War II, in a period of Italian history which has always seemed very hazy to me.
Dinah Jefferies' meticulous research has given substance to this traumatic time for Italians when, as a nation, their loyalty was torn in all directions.
We have remarkable women here. You immediately warm to Sofia, the Tuscan contessa, not only Sofia though, but Maxine, a damaged, courageous American/Italian, and Carla, Sofia's housekeeper. There is real depth to these characters. You will really care about them. They all have real love in their lives, but put themselves in danger both from the Nazi occupier and from the Italian fascists.
I heartily recommend The Tuscan Contessa. Once started, you will read it quickly because you won't be able to put it down until you have finished this story set in a time of great tension and fear of vicious reprisals.

Always love this author's books. Another one I couldn't put down, this time set in Italy in ww2 where the contessa lives. She is deeply in love with her husband but as the war progresses they are separated.