An unforgettable story of love and betrayal across the decades from the author of The Porcelain Maker – perfect for fans of Christy Lefteri and Victoria Hislop.

Rome 1939
Arriving in Rome to work for the wealthy Montefalco family, Maddalena is homesick and alone. She finds solace – and love – in the beauty of the city, but as the war in Nazi-occupied Italy rages, she must make a devastating choice.

London, 1997
After her mother Maddalena’s death, Beatrice Fremont discovers a fragment of a painting and a letter that sends her on a hunt to Rome. Helping her is art dealer Jude Adler, who’s convinced they are looking for a lost Caravaggio. For Jude, this could be the find of a lifetime; but for Beatrice their search uncovers a shocking secret and the answer to a mystery kept hidden for years.

My Review

The Seeker of Lost Paintings is set in two timelines. In 1997 we meet Beatrice Fremont, whose mother Maddalena is dying. Upon her passing, Beatrice knows she must sell her father’s art collection in order to keep the house. So she enlists the help of art dealer Jude Adler to help catalogue the paintings and put them up for auction. But Jude is shocked to discover part of a painting that looks like a lost Caravaggio.

In 1939, a very young Maddalena has arrived in Rome from Sicily to take up work in the house of the extremely wealthy Montefalco family. She is lonely and unhappy, but soon discovers her talent for cooking, and also finds forbidden love within the family.

Initially I was far more interested in the modern part, and was often exasperated when we jumped back to Maddelena’s story. But after a while I became fully invested in the history of Italy during the Second World War. I learned so much about Mussolini, his followers, the relationship with Hitler, and then how it all went wrong and Rome was eventually occupied by the Nazis. I won’t say anymore as I don’t want to get it wrong.

Conte Luca Montefalco’s older brother Robert gave up his inheritance to join the Catholic Church and I learned a lot about the Vatican’s art collection. It all became more and more interesting.

I listened to this book on Audible and the narration was brilliant. It makes so much difference to listener enjoyment when the characters are so richly portrayed.

The Seeker of Lost Paintings is Sarah’s second novel – I read her debut novel The Porcelain Maker last year.

About the Author

Sarah Freethy has been writing for television for the past three decades. Freethy has worked as an Executive Producer in factual TV and series as varied asBig Brother and Country House Rescue, to Clive James’ Postcard from Havana andTFI Friday. In 2020, she was a Script Consultant on two broadcast drama series, Before We Die (Channel 4) and Professor T (ITV) for Eagle Eye Drama. Sarah is a keen artist and photographer, as well as being a collector of vintage ephemera and odds and sods.

Sarah’s Social Media links

X/Twitter #SarahFreethy 
Instagram @sarah.freethy