Description

From the bestselling author of The Land Where Lemons Grow, a luminous account of Sicilian history, geography, culture and cuisine, as seen from the slopes of Etna
For centuries, Mount Etna has sent lava to engulf the towns and villages, terraced fields, orchards, vineyards, and citrus groves that nestle across its slopes. But still it remains home to a quarter of Sicily’s population. Why? Because Etna has always rewarded her people after every eruption with a landscape of unparalleled fertility, richness and drama.

In this extraordinary new book, Helena Attlee combines travel writing with history, mythology, geology, gastronomy and horticulture to tell a unique story of life in the shadow of Sicily’s most dangerous and alluring landmark. Venturing through lava-strewn fields and pistachio groves patrolled by armed guards; past dusky, basalt-built farmyards, and caves once used to store snow, Attlee gathers tales of the artists, writers, farmers, and scientists who have for centuries been drawn to this unpredictable landscape: from the early Roman, Arabic and Norman settlers, Romantic poets and Victorian geologists, to the local families who live and work there today. It is at once a compelling account of Sicily’s rich and varied past, and a powerful meditation on humanity’s ever-changing relationship with landscape.

Publisher Review

– – Praise for Helena Attlee * – * Thrillingly sensual, and zesty in every sense, Helena Attlee is the best of companions as she leads us through sundrenched citrus groves and in and out of history — Deborah Moggach * author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel * She writes with great lucidity, charm and gentle humour, and wears her considerable learning lightly . . . [with] elegant, absorbing prose and [a] sure-footed ability to combine the academic with the anecdotal * The Times Literary Supplement * Charming and original … Attlee has the natural storyteller’s gift — Stephen Walsh * author of Debussy * Attlee has that rare gift of being able to know an inordinate amount about a subject and yet wear her knowledge so lightly that the tone is anecdotal, not academic. It’s a big thing, to pull off such lightness — Yotam Ottolenghi Attlee has such a wonderful way with words * Daily Mail *