The Italian

the long version

Napoleon has fallen and the Austrian Empire sweeps the continent. Dashing revolutionaries, traitors and spies lurk in every quarter in the turbulent Italy of the 1820s. Italian patriot Angelo Bartolini is a man of many faces: a devoted son and brother, a noble friend and a stalwart nationalist. As a member of the Carbonari, a secret society dedicated to freeing Italy from Austrian rule, Angelo is a wanted man. But as with all great men, Angelo has a tender side, and his spirit awakens the passion of the brilliant but shy English painter, Beatrice Fairweather, who now makes her home in the Tuscan countryside. The Italian is a compelling story of two people who fall in love at the wrong time for all the right reasons. It is a haunting tale of families and war, of missed opportunities, betrayal, tragedy and of a love that knows no end.