War in Val D'orcia [Paperback]

Iris Origo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 28, 1999

The author, an Anglo-American married to an Italian landowner in 1924, found herself raising a family during the civil war and foreign invasion in the remote Tuscan countryside. This diary records her concerns to keep her household and sixty orphans together and save a rural community from annihilation. It is a story of confusion and bewilderment as a peasant society is confronted by disaster when, in the space of a few months, a whole way of life is changed completely beyond recognition. It is also a story of tragedy and suffering, of individual courage, generosity and heroism.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Allison & Busby (June 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749004231
• ISBN-13: 978-0749004231
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #748,532 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for anyone who loves Italy, January 2, 2012

By 

deangelo (MS, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: War in Val D'orcia (Paperback)

A MUST READ for Italophiles! This book gives a wonderful inside look into Italy during WWII. It is Iris Origo's personal diary while living through this time is history. It is astounding to realize the love and concern that she and her husband extended to the Italian people that lived and worked for them. She describes daily events, caring for children, helping escaped Allied prisoners, all of the hardships and events that were part of her life there in Italy. THis book is so moving that it prompted me to go in search of her home, La Foce in Tuscany, to see her house and gardens, walk the paths she walked and see the small cemetery where she and her husband are buried. I highly recommend this book and also her book, Images and Shadows. I only wish I could have met her!