Prince of the Clouds - Gianni Riotta

A rousingly romantic Mediterranean tale of love and war. `Even more enchanting than Louis de Bernieres's Captain Correlli's Mandolin, Riotta's novel is a revelation' (Daily Mail).

Palermo, 1946. Carlo Terzo, a retired military strategist who has never seen combat, is teaching young Salvatore Dragonara military history while Terzo works on his Manual for Strategic Living, in which he hopes to apply the hard lessons of war to daily life.

Salvatore is in love with the young and beautiful Fiore, whose mother, the Duchess Mastema, is a rich and cruel landowner. When Terzo and his friends visit the duchess's property, they are caught in a pitched battle between the oppressed peasants and the duchess's hired thugs, and Terzo is forced to put his strategic wisdom to the test.

Like Louis de Bernires' Captain Correlli's Mandolin, Gianni Riotta's charming and provocative romance explores large and small matters of love and war, shifting between the turbulence of post-war Sicily and the great battles of ancient and modern history. A bestseller in Italy, Prince of the Clouds is a deeply moving work of fiction, imbued with rare vibrancy and feeling.