The Invitation
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3.9 • 9 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
‘The perfect summer read… Gorgeously compelling’ Good Housekeeping
‘Full of mystery and long-reaching shadows of the past . . . richly drawn and compelling’ Rosanna Ley
It’s 1951. In Europe’s post-war wreckage, the glittering Italian Riviera draws an eclectic cast of characters; lured by the glamour but seeking an escape.
Amongst them, two outcasts: Hal, an English journalist who’s living on his charm; and Stella, an enigmatic society beauty, bound to a profiteering husband. When Hal receives a mysterious invitation from a wealthy Contessa, he finds himself aboard a yacht headed for Cannes film festival.
Scratch the beautiful surface, and the post-war scars of his new companions are quick to show. Then there’s Stella, whose secrets run deeper than anyone’s — stretching back into the violence of Franco’s Spain. And as Hal gets drawn closer, a love affair begins that will endanger everyone…
The Invitation is an epic love story that will transport you from the glamour of the Italian Riviera, to the darkness of war-torn Spain. Perfect for fans of Kate Morton and Victoria Hislop.
Reviews
‘A seductive love tale’ Sunday Times Style
‘Such a tense, intriguing, beautiful, heart-rending story . . . The characters are so real, the research flawless, the setting sublime. Read it!’ Clare Mackintosh
‘Glamour, secrets and danger makes this a gorgeous summer read’ Woman & Home
‘Sultry escapist fiction at its best – 5*’ HEAT
‘The perfect summer read… Gorgeously compelling’ Good Housekeeping
‘Oozes glamour… Lush, romantic and cleverly crafted – a brainy beach read to relish’ Sunday Mirror
‘I loved THE INVITATION . . . I could dive into this book. A beautifully complex and vivid story, full of repressed longing and secrets. An absolutely enchanting tale’ Lucinda Riley
‘A seductive love tale’ Sunday Times Style
‘So powerfully evoked . . . with dark, sensuous undercurrents that lingered on in my mind, long after I'd reluctantly left Stella and Hal behind’ Kate Riordan
‘Film crew, Italian Riviera, 1950s. What part of that does not appeal?’ Red
‘Full of mystery and long-reaching shadows of the past . . . richly drawn and compelling’ Rosanna Ley
‘This epic love story is an unputdownable summer read’ Essentials
‘If you like Victoria Hislop you’ll love the seductive and heady The Invitation’ Lovereading
‘An utterly seductive story depicting forbidden love and loss in 1950s Italy. The perfect beach read this summer' Louise O’Neill
‘I loved every page – it's vividly written and utterly absorbing’ Iona Grey
‘Foley weaves a very satisfying love story . . . readers will be taken by the luxurious Mediterranean setting’ Publishers Weekly
‘Glamorous and romantic and bittersweet all at once . . . a fabulous story’ Beatriz Williams, New York Times bestselling author of A Hundred Summers
‘It's a beautiful, compulsive and glamorous read – perfect for long summer days’ Lucy Clarke, author of the Richard & Judy bestseller, The Sea Sisters
About the author
Lucy Foley studied English Literature at Durham and UCL universities. She then worked for several years as a fiction editor in the publishing industry – during which time she also wrote her debut, The Book of Lost and Found. Lucy now writes full-time, and is busy travelling (for research, naturally!) and working on her next novel.
Visit her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LucyFoleyAuthor and follow her on Twitter @lucyfoleytweets
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Richly layered, and imbued with nautical imagery, The Invitation is so sumptuously written that it feels cinematic. Our protagonists are Hal, an English journalist living in Rome, and ethereal, mysterious Stella. The main storyline takes place on a yacht on the Italian Riviera in 1953, where Hal, Stella and a disparate cast of characters drink cocktails, trade intimacies and try to forget their troubled pasts. We found this wistful, romantic story very hard to put down.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hal Jacobs has been drifting through life since returning home from World War II. In 1953, he is eking out a living as a journalist in Italy when he is invited to join an Italian contessa on a sea voyage from Italy to Cannes to publicize her film, The Sea Captain. His job will be to write about the journey, and the pay is such that he can't refuse. The yacht's passengers are the glamorous stars of the film as well as the moneyed financiers that the contessa has assembled. When Hal sees the wife of one of the wealthy men aboard, he realizes that it's Stella Truss, with whom he had spent a night in Rome two years earlier and who has been impossible to forget. At first Hal and Stella try to ignore each other, but they are thrown together over and over: at dinner, on the dance floor, and on the moonlit deck. Before long their love affair is in full swing, fueled not only by their passion but also by their shared histories of losses and guilt. In her second novel, Foley (The Book of Lost and Found) weaves a very satisfying love story, and readers will be especially taken by the luxurious Mediterranean setting.
