A House Unearthed from Time

Vera and her elder brother Caspian lost their parents in a shipwreck when they were young. Vera grows up in London under the stern eye of her Aunt Eunice, while Caspian is sent to a distant boarding school in the north of nineteenth-century England. Years later, now an archaeologist, Caspian invites his sister on an adventure that will change her life—a journey to a place suspended in time: Pompeii, a city slowly emerging through excavation. It will be a sort of Grand Tour, like the rich young people finding out about the world and ancient civilisations. For Caspian, it is a job but for Vera, it is the promise of a new beginning. And so, as in a “novel for young ladies”, she decides to leave, despite the initial opposition of her aunt, who does not think such a dusty, sunny place full of men is suitable for her. On the slopes of Vesuvius, a new chapter unfolds, filled with wonder, hidden places, and an unexpected friendship with Ginestra, who introduces Vera to the city’s long-buried secrets. In this enchanting, dreamlike coming-of-age novel, Vera’s journey of self-discovery intertwines with the archaeological finds and mysteries unearthed from Pompeii’s ruins.

Reading age: from 10 years

Una casa fuori dal tempo
Beatrice Masini; illustrations by Elisabetta Stoinich
Mondadori, 2024