Diary of a Tuscan Bookshop

Alba Donati worked for years in publishing before moving back to her home village of Lucignana, near Lucca in Tuscany, and opening the 'Bookshop on the Hill', which has since become a refuge for countless readers from all over Italy. In 2020 the shop was included on a list of the 20 most beautiful bookshops in Europe. An award-winning poet, this is Alba's first work of non-fiction.

HOW A BOOKSELLER INSPIRED A NATION
The diary of a publicist-turned poet-turned bookseller who decided to open a tiny bookshop on the hills of the small village of Lucignana, Tuscany.

An eccentric and charming little book... It's like Chocolat meets Penelope Fitzgerald's The Bookshop, set in the Tuscan hills, with gardening tips, interior design ideas and gossip woven in... A celebration of writing, words and people.... In luscious language, the book rejoices in all the things that bring people together... Delightful.Who doesn't want to open up a bookshop in a gorgeous part of Italy? Just add a cosy armchair and a lazy, cold winter's day (each chapter comes with a useful list of books sold).Alba Donati's Diary of a Tuscan Bookshop is not only a work of significant beauty, it's inspiring. It's inspiring about the continuing life of books, and about the ways in which our lives can change and our dreams can come true, if only we insist on believing in changes and dreams.

HOW A BOOKSELLER INSPIRED A NATION
The diary of a publicist-turned bookseller who left Florence to open a tiny bookshop on a Tuscan hill.

'Like Chocolat meets Penelope Fitzgerald's The Bookshop, set in the Tuscan hills... A celebration of writing, words and people: delightful'
Mail on Sunday

'Who doesn't want to open up a bookshop in a gorgeous part of Italy? Just add a cosy armchair and a lazy, cold winter's day (each chapter comes with a useful list of books sold)'
Stylist, Christmas gift guide for book lovers

'A work of significant beauty... Inspiring about the continuing life of books, and about the ways in which our lives can change and our dreams can come true, if only we insist on believing in changes and dreams'
Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours

'Romano, I'd like to open a bookshop where I live.'
'Right. How many people are we talking about?'
'A hundred and eighty.'
'Right, so if a hundred and eighty thousand people live there, then . . .'
'No, not hundred and eighty thousand, Romano. Just a hundred and eighty.'
'Alba . . . Have you lost your mind?'
Conversation between Alba Donati and Romano Montroni, founder of Italy's largest bookselling chain

Alba used to live a hectic life, working as a book publicist in Florence - a life that made her happy and led her to meet prominent international authors. And yet, she always felt like she was a woman on the run.

And so one day she decides to stop running and go back to Lucignana, the small village on the Tuscan hills where she was born, to open a tiny bookshop.

With a total of only 180 residents, Alba's enterprise in Lucignana seems doomed from day one but it surprisingly sparks the enthusiasm of many across Tuscany - and beyond. After surviving a fire and the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, the 'Bookshop on the Hill' soon becomes a refuge and beacon for an ever-growing community of people: readers who come to visit from afar, safe in the knowledge that Alba will be able to find the perfect book for them.

A tale of resilience and entrepreneurship and a celebration of booksellers everywhere: the real (and often unsung) heroes of the publishing world.