Contents

prologue

Surprising even myself, I dropped out of Columbia during my…

PART ONE

sic transit

one

Somewhere between Amalfi and Capri, the sea turned indigo, depth…

two

We shared a taxi ride from the Marina Grande in…

three

My new home was a stone cottage with shutters on…

four

I lay awake that night, thinking about a letter from…

five

Maria Pia pointed in the direction of Grant’s study. “He…

six

That night, in the dining room, I met Holly Hampton…

seven

I was late for Grant’s party, and could see from…

PART TWO

gradus ad parnassum

one

Grant left the island for Rome in mid-May, taking Holly…

two

At the beginning of his second month in Vietnam, Nicky…

three

In heading to Rome, Grant left a vacuum. At meals…

four

"She wanted to rub your back, and this cracks up…

five

Luigi Aurelio, the good father, was all beneficent angel as…

six

Father, I have sinned.

seven

I kept hitting roadblocks with my own writing—failures of nerve…

eight

Late one afternoon, toward the end of May, I came…

nine

I sat one evening with Peter Duncan-Jones on the terrace…

PART THREE

amo, amas, amat

one

As Nicky’s tour of duty lengthened, his letters from Vietnam…

two

I’d been given a part of Grant’s work-in-progress about Capri…

three

That evening I had been invited to the villa of…

four

The clock in the tower of San Michele la Croce…

five

For days I wandered around the Villa Clio in a…

six

In 1948, Graham Greene bought a small villa in Anacapri…

PART FOUR

ars longa

one

It was early morning, the only time of day in…

two

Marisa stood in the doorway of my cottage, wearing a…

three

“You’ve hurt Marisa’s feelings,” said Holly, coming upon me in…

four

Nigel and Nicola arrived on a blinding-bright morning on the…

five

"Hello?"…

six

Weather is here, wish you were beautiful.

seven

Why do we always feel like idiots when talking to…

eight

I rose before six, as the sea below was just…

PART FIVE

vita brevis

one

Rains swept the island from the north one night in…

two

I took Nigel with me one afternoon in early August…

three

Chaos struck the following night.

four

The news about Nicky’s death had come from my father…

five

“We keeping talking to cheer ourselves up. To make it…

six

A fog lay on the water most of the way…

seven

Holly and I became better friends, but every attempt I…

PART SIX

gloria mundi

one

The steamy air cleared in late September, when the island…

two

I returned Love’s Body to Toni at the Villa Vecchia…

three

After my mother’s illness, my father assumed the role of…

four

I woke up early the next day, eager to leave…

five

“He’s quite hysterical,” said Holly, whom I met on my…

six

Before dinner, I carried my suitcase and knapsack to the…

seven

The serpentine descent to the harbor by taxi was a…

epilogue

I left Capri under cover of darkness, not thinking that…


Acknowledgments

About the Author

Praise

Other Books by Jay Parini

Copyright

About the Publisher