"Wonderful...I fell immediately into her world, and was sorry when I reached the end." --Frances Mayes, author of Under the Tuscan Sun The sparkling memoir of an idyllic, bohemian childhood in an enchanted Tuscan castle between the wars. When Kinta Beeevor was five, her father, the painter Aubrey Waterfield, bought the sixteenth-century Fortezza della Brunella in the Tuscan village of Aulla. There her parents were part of a vibrant artistic community that included Aldous Huxley, Bernard Berenson, and D. H. Lawrence. Meanwhile, Kinta and her brother explored the glorious countryside, participated in the region's many seasonal rites and rituals, and came to know and love the charming, resilient Italian people. With the coming of World War II the family had to leave Aulla; years later, though, Kinta would return to witness the courage and skill of the Tuscan people as they rebuilt their lives. Lyrical and witty, A Tuscan Childhood is alive with the timeless splendour of Italy. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Beevor, who died in 1995, recalls her childhood spent in Tuscany with bohemian British parents in this precious yet strangely distant memoir. Beevor has many interesting tales to tell: her parents, an artist and a writer, moved into a castle in the remote countryside of Aulla in 1905; then, in 1927, they inherited from her mother's aunt a villa just outside of Florence in Fiesole, a locale they had visited often. There is considerable charm in her stories of eating in the castle's rooftop garden and roaming through a rustic market where vendors sold wooden clogs and terra cotta pots. Her recollections of the local folk are sweet even if they reflect the sentiments of the foreign elite. "Finding servants was not easy," Beevor writes, although their castle was situated in an impoverished area. As well, her British family often found the informal attitudes of their Italian employees laughable. She delights in relating local traditions, however, such as the use of fennel to cure colic and the consumption of garlic to repel mosquitoes. When the family moved to its inherited villa in Fiesole, they began to associate with a larger circle of expatriates living there, including Bernard Berenson. Naturally, the war caused big problems for both the British residents and the peasants (who Beevor claims saw the danger of Mussolini when others were blind to it). Over all, Beevor's skewed perceptions cause a few problems: for starters, she places the painting-over of an 18th-century fresco of a poodle on the same level as the war-time destruction of the town of Aulla. Agent, Robin Straus. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Beevor grew up in Tuscany between the world wars. The family home, a fortress-like structure they called "the castle," was located near the Tuscan village of Aulla. Beevor moved there at age five with her mother, a writer, and her father, the painter Aubrey Waterfield. Neglected by her busy parents, she explored the castle and the countryside with her brother, becoming acquainted with the local peasants and participating in grape and olive harvests, mushroom gathering, and other Tuscan rituals. Like other recent Tuscan offerings--Frances Mayes's Under the Tuscan Sun (LJ 9/1/96) and Ferenc Mate's The Hills of Tuscany (LJ 12/98)--this one also expounds on the area's beauty, food, and people. But Beevor's approach is different; writing with wit and style, she tells of a bohemian life in a tumultuous time and follows the fate of her family and the castle over nearly 70 years. Recommended for all public libraries.Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Arguably like no other place, Italy's Tuscany region inspires a profound sense of attachment, tender feelings, and everlasting reverie of beauty perceived. Despite Beevor's aristocratic British heritage, growing up in rural Italy surely influenced her adult life in countless ways, as is apparent in her captivating reminiscences of childhood experiences. With rather complex familial connections to the area, Beevor elucidates a lifetime spanning two world wars, recalling fascinating neighbors (including Bernard Berenson and Aldous Huxley) and visitors to the family's castle (D. H. Lawrence, for instance), all providing elements of color and spice. Coming to the end of her story, Beevor's "sentimental journey" to Italy pays fitting tribute to the land and people she so loved. (Reviewed February 15, 1999)0375404627Alice Joyce From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.