Description

Moving between the Second World War and the present, an exhilarating debut novel in the vein of Jennifer Robson, Kate Quinn, and Natasha Lester, about two women, decades apart, whose fates converge in Florence, Italy.

Only fourteen, Stella Infuriati is the youngest member of her town’s resistance network during World War II. Risking torture and death, she relays messages, supplies, and weapons to partisan groups in the Tuscan hills. Her parents have no idea, consumed instead by love and fear for their beloved son, Achille, a courier and unofficial mechanic for a communist partisan brigade.

Then, after 1945, Stella seemingly vanishes from the records. Her name and story are overshadowed by the tragic death of her brother—until a young writer arrives in Tuscany in the spring of 2019, uncovering long-buried secrets.

Fleeing an emotionally abusive marriage and a lonely life on an isolated estate, Tori MacNair has come to Florence, the beautiful city her grandmother taught her to love, to build a new life. As she digs into her family history with the help of Marco, a handsome lawyer, Tori starts to uncover secrets of the past—truths that stretch back decades, to a young woman who risked everything to save her world . . .

About the Author

Kat Devereaux was born near Edinburgh, and has lived in the United States, Russia, France, Chile, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Italy, and now lives in the beautiful city of Prague. She is a historian by training and an enthusiast by nature.

Praise For…

"Kat Devereaux makes a powerful debut with ESCAPE TO FLORENCE. This richly textured, well-researched novel is about two women whose lives are inextricably intertwined  – one a young Italian resistance fighter during WWII, and the other, a woman fleeing her abusive marriage inspired by her grandmother’s last wish. This moving page-turner is a love letter to Florence - past and present - and filled with all the juicy elements that hist-fic lovers will celebrate: love, passion, history, courage, secrets and second chances." — Lisa Barr, New York Times bestselling author of Woman on Fire

"Escape to Florence is a poignant, emotional novel about love, loss, and new beginnings. Kat Devereaux’s vivid prose transports the reader to romantic Florence, where a young woman fleeing an abusive marriage delves into her grandmother’s past, and is inspired and strengthened by the heartbreaking courage of a local girl who joined the resistance against fascist rule during World War II." — Christine Wells, author of Sisters of the Resistance

"It is a glorious read full of rich detail that made me ache to be back in Italy. I loved the characters and the story.” — Liz Fenwick, author of The Path to the Sea

'I enjoyed this heart-warming and well-researched book, which conjures Tuscany so beautifully that I felt I was taking a holiday there whilst reading it. I found myself rooting ever more for Tori and her damaged heart as her story – and Stella’s – unfold in parallel. The spirit and atmosphere of Italy simply sizzle from its pages. A true escape!'  — Fiona Walker

"A rich and engaging vision of life gone by and a lust for one woman's future, rolled into one text. And now I want to move to Italy." — Mandy Robotham

"Kat Devereaux twists the charged stories of two brave women in two different times fighting under the same Tuscan sun. A fabulous debut." — Georgia Kaufman, author of Dressmakers of Paris

“Escape to Florence is a really enjoyable book. The characters are quite life-like. . . .The author understands people and their idiosyncrasies and brings that knowledge into her craft. . . . The book makes for a stimulating, fascinating, and thought-provoking read. Highly recommended.” — New York Journal of Books

"An engrossing dual narrative that shines a light on the brave young women couriers of the Italian Resistance who risked their lives doing indispensable work to stand up against fascism." — Toronto Star

"Escape to Florence by Kat Devereaux is an epic journey. . . . Breathtaking. . . . full of heartbreak, mystery, and an emotional roller coaster ride unlike any other." — The Gloss Book Club