A hidden diary. A story that’s waited a hundred years to be told . . .

1960, New York.

Emilia Rinaldi restores broken books for a living. She knows how to bring lost stories back to life.

The one story she cannot repair is her own.

Then an unexpected gift from her late mother arrives — an antique music box containing a faded photograph and a torn page from the diary of Lizzie Siddal, the tragic Pre-Raphaelite muse and wife of Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

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Emilia follows the clues to Rome. To an abandoned villa left by a grandmother she never knew. To a collection of rare and beautiful books, hidden in a church crypt through the war . . . And a secret buried for generations.

As Emilia pieces together her own past, Lizzie’s diary reveals another story. Two Rossetti paintings. One genuine. One a flawless forgery.

Separated by a century, the two mysteries are bound together. And when Emilia finally discovers the truth, she must decide whether some stories are meant to be preserved . . . or buried forever.

A spellbinding, dual-timeline, historical mystery of family secrets, set between Victorian London and 1960s Rome, is perfect for readers of Kate Morton, Evie Woods, Fiona Davis, and Lucinda Riley.

My Review

This was such a lovely book, though Lizzie Siddal’s diary is very sad. Lizzie was the wife of renowned painter and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who was one of the founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. He was from a well-to-do upper class family, while Lizzie was working class. By posing for his paintings and becoming his ‘muse’, she lifted herself up into the world of art. But Lizzie wanted to be an artist and poet in her own right.

Emilia Rinaldi lives in 1960s New York where she restores broken books. Her mother was recently killed in a car accident and Emilia is still grieving. She is engaged to marry Oliver, whose parents don’t really approve of his choice of bride. Then out of the blue Emilia receives notification that she must go immediately to Rome for the reading of her grandmother’s will – a grandmother she never met. Oliver is not best pleased as his parents have come to meet Emilia, and then there is the wedding to plan. We already know at this point that Oliver may not become one of our favourite characters.

So Emilia goes to Rome, to the home of her late grandmother, where she meets Anna, who looked after her, and Anna’s son Carlo, the lawyer dealing with the estate. You see where this might be going, but is it just wishful thinking on my part?

These are two separate stories – Emilia and Lizzie – a hundred years apart, but how are they connected, and why has Emilia got Lizzie’s diary? Lizzie’s diary is fascinating and I have always been a bit obsessed with the Pre-Raphaelites, especially after Aidan Turner played Dante Gabriel in Desperate Romantics in the TV mini series. I remember the scene where he opens Lizzie’s grave to retrieve the book of poetry he buried with her.

I really loved this, again it’s the perfect book to take on holiday and read at leisure by the pool. A book to be savoured, not rushed.

Many thanks to @ZooloosBT  for inviting me to be part of #TheSecretDiaryofRome blog tour.

About the Author

Marty Ambrose-McLaughlin is an award-winning, multi-published author of four historical mysteries set mostly in Italy, drawing on her background in nineteenth-century literature. Marty completed her M.Phil. at the University of York (England) and teaches creative writing at Florida Southwestern State College. She has also given numerous workshops in the U.S. and abroad on all aspects of creating/publishing a novel; her new novel, The Secret Diary of Rome is published by Joffe Books in 2026.

Connect with M.A. McLaughlin
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m_a_mclaughlinauthor/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/M.A.McLaughlinAuthor/
Website: https://martyambrose.com/

Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/256477078

Purchase Links:
https://mybook.to/secretdiaryrome-zbt