elfa

Winner of the 2012 Rubery Book Prize


In the dying days of the 20th Century, Elfa, a restorer in Florence, uncovers a hidden fresco in a remote church high in the frozen hills of the Mugello. Lost for five centuries, the painting not only rewrites art history, but takes her on a dark journey through her own subconscious, to meet the man who concealed it.


The find is unprecedented, but no less is the mystery of its origin: why was this work covered almost immediately after it was finished? As she carefully removes the flaking paint, going against her supervisors' orders, and with winter closing in, Elfa discovers something even more shocking: the original fresco contains images from her own past - and a brutal incident in particular she had thought long since consigned to obscurity. Now, as the masterpiece reveals itself before her, the dead painter can finally return to tell his story to the only person who can hear it.