Synopsis
A beautifully atmospheric new tale from the prize-winning, bestselling novelist Elizabeth Buchan.
In the Eternal City, no secret stays hidden forever...
Lottie Archer arrives in Rome excited to begin her new job as an archivist. When she discovers a valuable fifteenth-century painting, she is drawn to find out more about the woman who left it behind, Nina Lawrence.
Nina seems to have led a rewarding and useful life, restoring Italian gardens to their full glory following the destruction of World War Two. So why did no one attend her funeral in 1978?
In exploring Nina's past, Lottie unravels a tragic love story beset by the political turmoil of post-war Italy. And as she edges closer to understanding Nina, she begins to confront the losses in her own life.
Praise for Elizabeth Buchan:
'It's a gem of a book... Beautiful, elegant.' Marian Keyes
'Intricately plotted and beautifully written.' Katie Fforde
'An amazing, emotive, heartbreaking but also ultimately uplifting novel. I really loved it.' Laura Barnett
Publisher information
- Publisher: Atlantic Books
- ISBN: 9781786495327
- Number of pages: 368
- Dimensions: 234 x 153 x 25 mm
- Weight: 581g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View all
Archivist Lottie discovers Nina's secrets in Rome
Two Women in Rome is the beautifully-written story of two women. Lottie, an archivist newly arrived in Rome with her husband Tom, and Nina, whose papers sh... READ MORE
Pleasant read
I found this hard to get into and quite slow in the beginning. I knew nothing of Italian politics in the seventies and only did this become relevant as the... READ MORE
Lacking in parts
Having read and enjoyed previous books by Elizabeth Buchan, I was looking forward to reading this title. I was unfortunately disappointed. i struggled to... READ MORE
Another beautifully told story from Buchan.
Two Women in Rome is a truly captivating story set in two time periods. In the present day, Lottie is an archivist working in Rome who comes across a paint... READ MORE
Two women, same city, different times
I wish I could be more positive about this book. I know Elizabeth Buchan is a great writer, very well regarded but although I enjoy her writing I found thi... READ MORE
A great mystery
Lottie is a newlywed living in Rome. She has just started her new job as an archivist. She discovers an old painting suspected to be by one of the greats. ... READ MORE
The eternal city plays host to a tangled web
I read this straight after a couple of quite literary novels and worried at first whether I might find this a bit ‘light’ (did I really just write that? Go... READ MORE
Rather lacking
I was sent an uncorrected proof of Two Women in Rome by Elizabeth Buchan to read and review by NetGalley. Having read the author’s most recent book I had ... READ MORE
Lovely Cover but a bit hard going
Two Women in Rome tells the story of Lottie, an archivist newly arrived in Rome following her marriage. In the course of her work she comes across a 15th c... READ MORE
A great story, but hard work!
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I don’t usually do half stars, but here is why I was a bit torn with this one...
The novel centres around Lottie, a newly-married archivist who’... READ MORE
Absorbing
This is a beautifully written book that cleverly combines intrigue, history, art, romance and a fabulous setting to create an absorbing read - I loved it.
... READ MORE
I loved it
This was a fantastic story a five star read from me and the second book by the author Elizabeth Buchan that I have read and loved. This story is set in Rom... READ MORE
Bit disappointed
Okay, so as much as the review seems really negative, it's not. I really did enjoy reading this book, and I loved how it was written, and encapsulated the ... READ MORE
Loved it!
This book follows two women's experiences of moving from UK to Rome and learning how to adapt their lives to fit with the local culture. Nina's story is se... READ MORE
brill
Lottie is marries to Tom Archer and they both work and live in Rome in Italy. She has an amazing job as an archivist and this enables you to understand why... READ MORE
an escape to Rome
Two Women in Rome is an intriguing book about an archivist called Lottie who becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to an Englishwoman named Nina ... READ MORE
Not a promising start but ...
Lottie has uprooted her life to move to Italy to be with her new husband. Not only has she left behind a successful career, but she has not known her husba... READ MORE
Beautiful
This book really blew my mind, I was seriously not expecting the contents of this book. The cover is what first attracted me. I was very drawn to the intri... READ MORE
Fascinating historical detail
I am all about novels set in Italy at the moment. For some reason, it is a place I am craving a visit to in these times where it is practically impossible ... READ MORE
Beautiful in places
There are occasional glimpses of Rome, the eternal city, in this book, which are beautiful, indeed this is a well written book with evocative prose giving ... READ MORE
Beautiful piece of historical fiction
For some reason I thought this was going to be a light, summer kind of read based on the title and cover but it was so much more darker than I expected. Th... READ MORE
intriguing writing
The story changing its narrative and being told from both perspectives was amazing. I was really drawn into the story; I liked the writing and found it eas... READ MORE
such a pleasant read !!
This book was such an amazing read, alluring to say the least it had me gripped from start to finish and the storyline was filled with excitement, mystery ... READ MORE
Not my cup of tea
Lottie Archer is newly married to Tom and has arrived in Rome to a new job as an archivist.
During her work she stumbles across the case of Nina Lawrence,a... READ MORE
Mixed Emotions
May be spoilers ahead!
To be honest, I was disappointed by how this book didn't grip me enough to finish reading it - I DNFed it at page 154. The writing ... READ MORE
4 stars
Lottie Archer meets and marries Tom, a Rome-based artist. She lands a job as chief archivist at Archivo Espatriati, where one of her first responsibilities... READ MORE
Enjoyable and Captivating
I fell in love with the writing style from the moment I picked up the book. The writer uses an artistic and elegant vocabulary that really conveys the beau... READ MORE
Slow start
I read this book courtesy of NetGalley. I did wonder how I was going to actually finish this book as the first half was slow and rather heavy going and co... READ MORE
Slow read
I had been eagerly awaiting this book and the thought of reading about art, Italy and a complicated love story embroiled in the political aftermath of post... READ MORE
Two women in Rome
Oh deary me ! I had such high hopes for this story but alas I was very disappointed. The story is indeed set in Rome, one of my favourite places in the wor... READ MORE
Beautiful
A beautiful novel, which unearths an emotional and heartbreaking story of the past.
Lottie has just married Tom, they are living in Rome and she has just ... READ MORE
Don't judge a book by its cover!
It took me a while to get into at first but I ended up being pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. The author describes Rome so beautifully ... READ MORE
A moving story of love, loss and resolution.
This complex story is told in two timelines, using Nina’s first person narrative to reveal the details of the events which shaped the final two years of he... READ MORE
Two Women in Rome
Lottie has been brought up in foster care and eventually meets and marries Tom. She has been unhappy up until this point and is happy with her chosen new l... READ MORE
2 stars too much waffle
I loved the book cover and the font chosen was easy to read but I struggled as I could not relate to any of the characters and because of the layout switch... READ MORE
Two Women in Rome
An intelligent novel that fuses the dual narrative of two seemingly disparate women within a patchwork of history, religion, politics, espionage and love. ... READ MORE
Two Women in Rome
Lottie has been brought up in foster care and eventually meets and marries Tom. She has been unhappy up until this point and is happy with her chosen new l... READ MORE
Beautifully written
I absolutely loved this book-the first time I had read a book by Elizabeth Buchan and I’m now going to read more. It’s beautifully written ,and so evocati... READ MORE
An Interesting Read
The cover and inside pages of this book are lovely, they immediately caught my eye and I think fitted very well with the setting of the book.
I was dra... READ MORE
Captivating
Historical fiction set in Rome. Lottie an archivist discovers some papers from Nina a woman killed more than thirty years ago under strange circumstances. ... READ MORE
An intriguing story.
This was such an enjoyable book to read. I was not sure what to expect from it but it turned out really great. Although it was a bit slow paced at the star... READ MORE
Not what I was expecting
In the Eternal City, no secret stays hidden forever...
Lottie Archer arrives in Rome excited to begin her new job as an archivist. When she discovers a va... READ MORE
Lovely descriptions
Having read and enjoyed previous books by Elizabeth Buchan, I was looking forward to reading this title. I was unfortunately disappointed. i struggled to... READ MORE
Wonderful and Different
I was really surprised by this book. I was expecting a slightly fluffy, chick-lit type of story, and I am pleased to say that I was wrong!
This book defin... READ MORE
Set in Rome
This is a story set in two timelines. The late 70’s and present day.
Lottie Archer is recently married to Tom and has settled with him at his home in Rome.... READ MORE
ARC
Lottie Archer arrives in Rome excited to begin her new job as an archivist. When she discovers a valuable fifteenth-century painting, she is drawn to find ... READ MORE
Wonderful story
Elizabeth Buchan is always an excellent writer and Two Women in Rome is no exception. The protagonist, Lottie, is an unusual character and made so real and... READ MORE
Detailed Story
Set in both the present day and 1970s Italy, The Two Women In Rome the title of the book refers to are Lottie - who is married to Tom Archer (who had a job... READ MORE
Beautiful love story
I was not sure as I started to read this book whether I would enjoy it. There was nothing wrong with the setting, always wanted to visit the beautiful cit... READ MORE
Highly recommended
I was fascinated by the story of these women and loved the well researched background.
The descriptions of Rome are realistic and the historical background... READ MORE
Intriguing dual-timeline mystery
As the title suggests, this book is about two English women who find themselves living in Rome, but decades apart. They never meet but, after starting her ... READ MORE
OK, not really a gripping read
I found this an alright read; parts of it were interesting but others dragged. I really struggled to actually relate or connect with both Lottie and Nina, ... READ MORE
Interesting story.
This was a interesting story but very slow moving. There was a mixture of very different characters with security. religion and politics running below. The... READ MORE
Beautifully written
So far this book seems beautifully written, the unravelling of lottes story and the secrets to what she has been through is lovely to read, seems like it c... READ MORE
Lots of twists and a surprising end
I didn’t really know what to expect when I started reading this book. Lottie marries Tom after a whirlwind romance and they are based in Rome where Lottie ... READ MORE
Fascinating insight into Italian art and politics
We begin in 1977 with Nina, in bed with her lover - it’s an illicit affair and not too difficult to surmise what the main obstacle is! Enjoyed the insights... READ MORE
Not Bad
Two Women in Rome, the latest novel from Elizabeth Buchan, tells the stories of Lottie Archer and Nina Lawrence, the titular women, living in Rome 40 years... READ MORE
A clever thriller
4-5 stars
Lottie Archer meets and marries Tom who lives and works in Rome. She is able to secure a job as chief archivist at Archivo Espatriati where one... READ MORE
Dual time-line novel set in ROME
3.5*
Lottie has come to Rome to be with Tom and she manages to bag a job as an archivist. She discovers archive material that draws her in and takes her ba... READ MORE
Amazingly Good!
Nina Lawrence is a British ex-pat living and working in Rome as a successful landscape gardener. She died in the late 1970s, but few people attended the fu... READ MORE