by Debbie Rix
‘Oh yes…’ said Tom. ‘In spite of the language barrier, I think we’ll be fine. Men and boats – we don’t need to say much. Besides, there’s just an understanding between us – you know?’
‘I know… I can see that,’ said Sophie. ‘Tom… before we go, there’s something I’d like to show you’.
‘Yes, darling, what is it?’
‘I’ve been saving it… I wasn’t sure whether to give it to you, or Tommaso, but I feel I must.’
‘What?’
‘It’s a letter – a letter I found recently in Rachael’s desk. The photograph was hidden in a little cupboard. This was in another larger envelope in one of the drawers. I took all the papers home ages ago to sort them out but didn’t get round to it until recently. It’s a letter she wrote to Tommaso but never sent. I thought you should have it.’
She opened her bag and handed him the envelope.
‘Read it – it’s your call whether you ever show it to Tommaso.’
Heath House,
Willow Road,
Hampstead,
London
20th May 1978
My dearest Tommaso,
I wonder if you know how often I have wanted to write to you. How often I have written to you. I never sent the letters of course – not wishing to upset you, or your wife. What, after all, was the point in writing – we both know how much we meant to the other; and we both know that, in the end, it was not to be. You were promised elsewhere and it would have been wrong to break that bond. But I am writing today because I think there is something that you ought to know, something you have a right to know…
You have a son… We have a son. His name is Tom – and today is his eighteenth birthday. I’m sorry if this is a shock. I had no idea when I left the island that I was carrying your child. I only found out a couple of months after I returned home. I thought then of writing, of begging you to take me back. But it wouldn’t have been fair. You may have been married already by then and what, after all, could you have done?
So much has happened since I left you. Where to begin, my dear?
After I left the island, I thought I would never be happy again. Our love had been so special – there was a tenderness and passion about it that I had never felt before, or since. To have that snatched away seemed so unjust at the time. But I want you to know that I did find love again – with an American named Charles. We lived very happily in New York for a year or so, but he was killed in a terrible air accident when Tom was just a baby. I came back to England and returned to the house where my father and I lived in Hampstead. I felt so lost, but I did, at least, have the children.
My father, Angela, Tom and I stayed in the house – renting some rooms in the attic. And then one very sad day the landlady, Mrs Roper, died suddenly. It was so very sad. She loved us all and made us all so welcome. When her will was read, I discovered she had left the house to me. I was amazed, and delighted – I cannot conceal it. We have lived here ever since.
My darling father died a few years later. That broke my heart. But he lived long enough to see his grandchildren growing strong and healthy. And he was a good age and, although he had endured much suffering in his life, was content, I believe, at the last. But it was hard to be left, finally alone. I thought then of writing to you… but you had your life in Sant’Antioco, and mine was here…
Our boy grows more and more like you. Even though we live on the edge of a huge city, his favourite pastime is fishing. My husband Charles left a little money to be settled on Tom when he is twenty-one. He wants to repair boats and we have found an old derelict boatyard on the coast in Dorset. If he gets on well there, I shall buy it for him. He will be happy there, I know.
We cannot ever go back, Tommaso. The past, after all, is over and done with. The future is what matters now. So write to me? Tell me about your life. Are you happy with your wife – I never knew her name. Did you have children? I think of you so often in the cottage near the cove. I think of how you saved my child from the waters. Of how you comforted me and loved me…
I think of you…
If you fell in love with Sophie and Rachel’s stories, you’ll adore Daughters of the Silk Road by Debbie Rix - a stunning and richly evocative story following the journey of a precious family treasure passed down from one generation to another.
Get it here!
Daughters of the Silk Road
A beautiful and epic novel of family, love and the secrets of a Ming Vase.
She crossed over to the shelf where her father kept the dragon vase. He had placed it there when they first arrived in Venice. She took it down carefully, feeling it cool and comforting under her shaking fingers.’
Venice 1441: Maria and her brother Daniele arrive in the birthplace of their father, Niccolo dei Conti. An Italian merchant who has travelled far and wide, Niccolo has brought spices from India, lengths of silk and damask from the lands east of India and porcelain; a vase of pure white, its surface decorated with a cobalt blue dragon, the Chinese symbol of good fortune.
Maria settles in her new home, watching the magnificent and bustling city come to life each morning from her bedroom window. But while her father is away travelling, she soon finds herself and Daniele in terrible danger. She must protect her brother at whatever cost, and she must guard the delicate vase.
London 2015: Single mother Miranda is struggling to make ends meet and build a new life for her and daughter Georgie. When Miranda meets the charming but mysterious Charles, she is intrigued. Could he be her second chance at love? And why is he so fascinated by the old vase sitting on her hall table…
A stunning and richly evocative story following the journey of a precious family treasure passed down from one generation to another. Perfect for fans of Dinah Jefferies and Kate Morton.
Get it here.
Historical Note
I first became interested in the process of producing sea-silk whilst researching my previous book The Silk Weaver’s Wife. I came across a reference to this mysterious fabric and began to explore it. I knew instantly that it would form the basis of a novel.
In 2017, I visited the little island of Sant’Antioco, which is linked to the main island of Sardinia by a man-made causeway. This delightful island is now one of the last places in the world where byssus or ‘sea-silk’ is still produced. At one time, this fabric was widely manufactured by people on the shores of the Mediterranean. There are references to it for at least two thousand years and it is thought to be the explanation for many of the biblical references to ‘cloth of gold’ – for when you hold up this remarkable fabric in the sunlight, it does indeed glisten like gold.
Italo Diano (1890–1969) founded a weaving atelier in the 1930s on Sant’Antioco, and one or two of her ex-students still work with sea silk on a small scale – but only to demonstrate the process; it is no longer a viable manufactured product. I visited the museum in the town, where I was shown how to spin and weave this remarkable thread and was given a slender byssus bracelet that inspired me as I wrote this novel.
The other ‘thread’ to this story was inspired by the life and death of the Jewish queen Berenice and her lover Emperor Titus. Berenice met Titus when he came to the Holy Land on behalf of the Roman Empire and suppressed the Jewish revolt. He fell in love with the beautiful Berenice and they conducted a long love affair. She finally followed him back to Rome and lived with him as his wife, but when he was made emperor – on the death of his father – it was considered impossible for him to marry the Jewish queen. Consequently, she was banished, but there are no records of where she may have gone. She simply disappears from the historical record. One possibility is that she went to Sant’Antioco – then an outpost of the Roman Empire and widely settled by people of the Jewish faith. And if she did go to Sant’Antioco, did she also bring with her the skill of weaving byssus – something that was widespread along the shores of the Holy Land?
This theory is given substance by the discovery of a pair of tombs beneat
h the cathedral in Sant’Antioco. Hidden behind centuries of dirt and dust were the inscriptions that indicate that a woman named Beronice (note a slightly different spelling of the name) is buried in one of the graves, and her husband ‘a good man’ in the other. They have been the subject of research since their discovery in 1885. Who is the ‘Berenice’ who is buried there? And could it be that it is Queen Berenice and her lover? Theories abound, obviously; some researchers insist that the graves are not, in fact, Roman, but date from the fourth century and that the woman buried there is not a queen, but another Jewish woman named Beronice. But the mystery around the graves persists, and the idea that this burial site is the final resting place of the Jewish queen remains as intoxicating as ever.
My novels tend to mix historical fact with fiction and this one is no different. The historical facts in this novel include the discovery in 1912 of a piece of byssus fabric dating from the fourth century. It was found by an archaeologist in the grave of a woman at Aquincum – the Roman city near modern-day Budapest. The person who found it was Hungarian, but he was not called George Laszlo – that is my invention.
George’s character was loosely based upon the Head of Talks and Documentaries at the BBC – George Fischer – who escaped the Hungarian uprising of 1956 and came to London. I worked for him for a few brief months in the 1970s when I began my career at the BBC and he was one of the kindest and most intelligent men I have ever met. My character is a complete fiction, but I hope the ‘real’ George won’t mind me ‘stealing’ his Christian name for the purposes of this novel.
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Also by Debbie Rix
The Photograph
The Silk Weaver’s Wife
Daughters of the Silk Road
The Girl with Emerald Eyes
A Letter from Debbie
I want to say a huge thank you for choosing to read The Photograph. If you did enjoy it, and want to keep up-to-date with all my latest releases, just sign up at the following link. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.
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I’m always happy to hear from my readers. You can get in touch through my Facebook page, Twitter, Goodreads or my website.
Thanks,
Debbie Rix
www.debbierix.com
The Silk Weaver’s Wife
An Italian daughter and an English journalist. Their unforgettable stories cross centuries as past and present weave together in this beautifully moving summer read.
1704
Anastasia is desperate to escape her controlling and volatile father and plans to marry in secret. But instead of the life she has dreamed of, she finds herself trapped in Venice, the unwilling wife of a silk weaver.
Despite her circumstances, Anastasia is determined to change her fate…
2017
Millie wants more from her relationship and more from her life. So when her boss Max abruptly ends their affair, she takes the opportunity to write a feature in Italy.
Staying in a gorgeous villa, Millie unexpectedly falls in love with the owner, Lorenzo. Together they begin to unravel an incredible story, threaded through generations of silk weavers.
And Millie finds herself compelled to discover the identity of a mysterious woman in a portrait…
A gorgeously written, richly evocative story, The Silk Weaver’s Wife is perfect for readers who love Kate Morton and Gill Paul. Get it here.
The Girl With Emerald Eyes
A richly drawn and absorbing novel of passion and power, love and redemption that will captivate fans of Victoria Hislop, Tracy Chevalier and Kate Furnivall.
Two women, centuries apart, bound together by the secrets of one of the most iconic buildings ever created.
Pisa, 1999: Sam Campbell sits by her husband’s hospital bed. Far from home and her children, she must care for Michael who is recovering from a stroke. A man she loves deeply. A man who has been unfaithful to her.
Alone and in need of distraction, Sam decides to pick up Michael’s research into the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Immersing herself in the ancient city, she begins to piece together the mystery behind the creation of the tower, and discovers the woman that history forgot…
Pisa, 1171: Berta di Bernardo, the wife of a rich merchant, sits in her chamber, dressing for a dinner party. A gathering that will change the course of her life and that of a young master mason, Gerardo, forever.
A strong, intelligent woman, Berta’s passion for architecture draws her to Gerardo. As she embarks on a love affair, her maid Aurelia also becomes spellbound by the same man. Yet for Berta, her heart’s desire is to see the Tower built, and her determination knows no bounds…
Get it here.
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to the following people for their help with the writing of this book:
My family – as always – for putting up with me as I lock myself away for months on end in ‘the shed’.
My editor Natasha Harding for her encouragement and insight.
To Kim Nash and all the team at Bookouture for their unwavering support.
My friend Vanessa Nicolson for her invaluable help translating dense Italian archaeological research papers as well as with colloquial Italian.
I was inspired by watching Chiara Vigo – ‘the last Master of marine byssus’ – at work at the museum of byssus in Sant’Antioco. Susanna Lavazza’s book about Chiara and the history of byssus was also a useful resource.
Robert Conard’s account of his time working as a young student in the refugee camp in Traiskirchen in 1956 provided a wonderful insight into that period of history.
Published by Bookouture
An imprint of StoryFire Ltd.
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
United Kingdom
www.bookouture.com
Copyright © Debbie Rix, 2018
Debbie Rix has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1-78681-476-0