Up at the Villa (Vintage International) (Works of W. Somerset Maugham)

by W Somerset Maugham

Now a major motion picture from USA Films starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Sean Penn, and director Philip Haas (director of Angels and Insects).


In Up at the Villa, W. Somerset Maugham portrays a wealthy young English woman who finds herself confronted rather brutally by the repercussions of whimsy.

On the day her older and prosperous friend asks her to marry him, Mary Leonard demurs and decides to postpone her reply a few days.  But driving into the hills above Florence alone that evening, Mary offers a ride to a handsome stranger.  And suddenly, her life is utterly, irrevocably altered.

For this stranger is a refugee of war, and he harbors more than one form of passion.  Before morning, Mary will witness bloodshed, she will be forced to seek advice and assistance from an unsavory man, and she will have to face the truth about her own yearnings.  Erotic, haunting, and maddeningly suspenseful, Up at the Villa is a masterful tale of temptation and the capricious nature of fate.

• ISBN10: 0375724621
• ISBN13: 9780375724626
• Publish Date: 11 April 2000 (first published 1 March 1977)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Vintage Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 224
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780375724626

Reviews

[Linda]

Up at the Villa is kind of a mystery while also being a love story in a way. I read this on a recommendation from one of my colleagues, who wanted to use it in class. I enjoyed the story quite a bit, but I'm not sure how well it would work with my students.

COYER Summer 2019 Treasure Hunt: Read a book with more than 125 pages and less than 215 pages in physical format. 2 POINTS