This book was inspired by my lifelong love of Italy. Having studied History of Art and Italian for my degree I was lucky enough to spend four years immersed in Italian culture, including a year living in Bologna. I have travelled all over this beautiful country and adored every part of it, but my favourite place has to be Positano on the Amalfi coast. Thank you to all my lovely readers for supporting me thus far, I hope you have enjoyed visiting Italy with me.
I would like to thank my sisters, Sophie and Emma, and my mother Polly for their invaluable help shaping and editing this story as it developed. I would also like to thank my friend, Emma, for her help in answering numerous questions as I wrote the first draft, and the rest of my family for their support and guidance.
As always I would like to thank my editor, Sarah Ritherdon, for her expertise during the editing process, as well as my copy editor Penelope Isaac and the rest of the team at Head of Zeus: Nia Beynon, Yasemin Turan and Geo Willis. I would also like to thank my agent Beatrice Corlett for her help during the initial stages of writing this novel.
Finally my deepest thanks goes to my husband Tom. He has the patience of a saint and is unwavering in his support for all of my ventures. And to my daughter, Camilla, you have come into our lives and transformed them totally, for the better in every single way. We cannot imagine life without you. Thank you for arriving two weeks late enabling me to finish editing before being immersed in a world of sleepless nights and nappies!