Overview

Now in B format. From the author of the bestselling The Food of Love comes a wonderful second novel featuring the same irresistible combination of food, romance and Italy. Twenty-two-year-old James Gould arrives in Occupied Naples in 1943, where his duties include dissuading Allied soldiers from marrying their beautiful Italian girlfriends, and his diet includes little more than spam fritters and warmed-up rations. The girls of Naples, however, soon arrange for a beautiful young country girl to join his staff as a cook. Under the twin influences of Italian food and Italian passion, James has only just realised that his heart is more important than his orders, when an eruption of Vesuvius sets in motion a series of epic events that will change their lives for ever.

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9780751537543

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Reviews

'Full of the same colour and verve as Capella's The Food of Love, this story also blends romance with gourmet delights' Good Housekeeping **?The Wedding Officer resembles a cross between Captain Corelli's Mandolin and Chocolat, while remaining a charming and powerful fiction in its own right? Michael Arditti ** ?This is an engaging tale. It brims with fascinating historical detail, an infectious enthusiasm for southern Italy and its cuisine and is an undemanding and sympathetic love story? Sunday Times

Full of the same colour and verve as Capella's THE FOOD OF LOVE, this story also blends romance with gourmet delights - GOOD HOUSEKEEPING THE WEDDING OFFICER resembles a cross between CAPTAIN CORELLI'S MANDOLIN and CHOCOLAT, while remaining a charming and powerful fiction in its own right - Michael Arditti This is an engaging tale. It brims with fascinating historical detail, an infectious enthusiasm for southern Italy and its cuisine and is an undemanding and sympathetic love story - SUNDAY TIMES Spicy, funny, delicious and sexy, this is the perfect holiday book - EVENING HERALD

Capella (The Food of Love, 2004) again mingles amore with alimenti in this tale of a British officer who develops an appetite for all things Italian.In February 1944, Captain James Gould is sent to Naples to enforce an army policy discouraging British soldiers from marrying Italian natives. The inexperienced officer is quickly put on the offensive when confronted with bribes and brides. James clamps down on the black market and takes a hard line when dealing with locals. They devise a ploy to soften his governance by attacking his taste buds: A man who has eaten well - he's at peace with the world he wants other people to be happy. So the black marketers place beautiful and talented cook Livia Pertini in James's kitchen. He tries to resist (it's career suicide, after all), but soon the young officer is under her spell. James reverses his stance and starts approving batches of marriage applications; he even aids the locals as they attempt to reopen businesses. Livia is standoffish at first - she's a recent widow, and the Allies treated her family vilely - but eventually she succumbs to James's clumsy seductions. Capella does a capable job capturing the essence of war-torn Italy, but his prose becomes transcendent when he pours his heart into telling the story of Italian food. Readers will appreciate the recipes for sugo (a basic tomato sauce) and other classic Italian dishes; even the most fastidious dieter may consider a pasta binge. Disappointingly, the love story isn't as appetizing as Livia's fettuccine al limone. An overwrought romance spoils a lovely feast for the senses. (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Information

Anthony Capella spends part of each year travelling in Italy. This is his second novel. * Visit the author's website: www.anthonycapella.com Author Location: Oxfordshire THE FOOD OF LOVE (0 7515 3569 9) (also available as an audiobook (1 4055 074 3) CD, (1 4055 073 5) cassette)

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