The Invitation, Lucy Foley
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The Invitation

Author: Lucy Foley

Narrator: Emma Gregory

Unabridged: 11 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/02/2016


Synopsis

From the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Paris Apartment and The Guest List, an evocative love story set along the Italian Riviera about a group of charismatic stars who all have secrets and pasts they try desperately — and dangerously — to hide.

Rome, 1953: Hal, an itinerant journalist flailing in the post-war darkness, has come to the Eternal City to lose himself and to seek absolution for the thing that haunts him. One evening he finds himself on the steps of a palazzo, walking into a world of privilege and light. Here, on a rooftop above the city, he meets the mysterious Stella. Hal and Stella are from different worlds, but their connection is magnetic. Together, they escape the crowded party and imagine a different life, even if it's just for a night. Yet Stella vanishes all too quickly, and Hal is certain their paths won't cross again.

But a year later they are unexpectedly thrown together, after Hal receives an invitation he cannot resist. An Italian Contessa asks him to assist on a trip of a lifetime -- acting as a reporter on a tremendous yacht, skimming its way along the Italian coast toward Cannes film festival, the most famous artists and movie stars of the day gathered to promote a new film.

Of all the luminaries aboard — an Italian ingénue, an American star, a reclusive director — only one holds Hal in thrall: Stella. And while each has a past that belies the gilded surface, Stella has the most to hide. As Hal's obsession with Stella grows, he becomes determined to bring back the girl she once was, the girl who's been confined to history. An irresistibly entertaining and atmospheric novel set in some of the world's most glamorous locales, The Invitation is a sultry love story about the ways in which the secrets of the past stay with us — no matter how much we try to escape them.

Author Bio

English author, Lucy Foley resides in London, but is an avid world traveler. Her love of different places is many times reflected in her writing. She says this passion is responsible for the appearance of some far flung locations in her writing.

Her latest novel is set in the Italian Riviera and uses the film world of the 1950's, which might be considered by some to be the heyday of the film industry. In her debut novel, she chose another interesting venue to write The Book of Lost and Found in 2015.

On a trip to Connemara, where half of Lucy's family came from, the idea came to her to write The Hunting Party and three other novels. Lucy was in awe of the wild and rugged landscape on the islands, but they also seemed cut off creating thoughts of danger. Lucy immediately began plotting a new murder mystery about an island wedding, with no escape. Old friends and family are reuniting, with emotions running high.......what could possibly go wrong? Thus, sets the scene for The Guest List.

Lucy writes fiction for periodicals such as Sunday Times Style, Grazia, ES Magazine, Vogue US, Elle, Tatler, and Marie Claire.

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