Author Note

A story is rarely created in a vacuum. For me the process often starts with the spark of a historical hook. For this book that spark ignited when I found Robert M. Edsell’s book Monuments Men at the library the summer of 2010. From my first glance at the cover with its photo of World War II soldiers carrying paintings, I was hooked. While his book focuses primarily on France and Germany, it created a passion to learn more. That led me to other books including The Venus Fixers by Ilaria Dagnini Brey and The Rape of Europa by Lynn Nicholas and its accompanying documentary. While Robert Edsell had a book on the Italy art campaign release in May 2013, I’d already completed this novel. I look forward to reading it in the future. My deepest appreciation to the men and women who do the research to write the books that bring history to life.

However, the book that was key to knowing the time line and challenges of the Monuments Men as they approached Florence was Florentine Art under Fire by Frederick Hartt. He served as a Monuments Man in Italy and wrote the book in 1949. I relied heavily on portions of his book to capture how the Monuments Men responded to the devastation and challenges in Florence.

When I wanted to get a sense for life in Tuscany during the war, I stumbled upon a wonderful diary: War in Val D’Orica by Iris Origo. You can imagine the thrill when she talked about the Monuments Men in the pages of her journal. The Day of Battle by Rick Atkinson provided key information and framework for the aftermath in Naples as well as the fighting around Florence. Where the Action Was by Penny Coleman and The Women Who Wrote the War by Nancy Caldwell Sorrel were two of the resources that helped me understand what it was like to be a woman journalist during the war. Assignment to Hell by Timothy M. Gay gave me invaluable information about the campaign up Italy from a reporter’s perspective. The tidbit about how the Rome newsroom reacted to the news of D-Day came from that fascinating look at four reporters during World War II.

The history is so important to me that I do all I can to get the details correct. However, any mistakes are mine alone.

Thank you for joining me on this journey into a little told story of World War II and the battle to save the treasures of Western civilization in the face of aerial warfare.