Series: Penguin European Writers

In 1930s Italy, a young girl falls in love for the first time, with devastating consequences; introduction by Elizabeth Strout. Life was a perpetual holiday in those days... It's the height of summer in 1930s Italy, and sixteen-year-old Ginia is desperate for adventure. So begins a fateful friendship with Amelia, a stylish and sophisticated artist's model who envelops her in...

A hauntingly beautiful tale about a young German soldier, from a Nobel Prize-winning author, introduced by Anna Funder. Twenty-four-year-old Andreas, a disillusioned German soldier, is travelling on a troop train to the Eastern Front when he has an awful premonition that he will die in exactly five days. As he hurtles towards his death, he reflects on the chaos around...

A gorgeous Greek modern classic about three sisters coming-of-age over the course of three summers, introduced by Polly Samson. That summer we bought big straw hats. Maria's had cherries around the rim, Infanta's had forget-me-nots, and mine had poppies as red as fire. . . Three Summers is a warm and tender tale of three sisters growing up in the...

A quirky and compassionate tale of a woman's solitary wanderings through 1960s Paris, with an introduction by Deborah Levy. The Lady and the Little Fox Fur is an existential feminist classic about an old woman who lives alone in a tiny attic flat in Paris, where she counts out coffee beans every morning beneath the roar of the overhead metro....

A gorgeous Romanian modern classic about love and relationships, with an introduction by Booker-winner John Banville. Stefan Valeriu, a young Romanian student, holidays alone in the Alps, where he soon becomes entangled in romantic relationships with three different women who pass through his guesthouse. We follow Stefan after his return to Paris as he reflects on the women in his...

A collection of delightful short stories from one of Ireland's greatest ever writers, Brian Friel. 'A fake! A quack! A charlatan! Get a grip on yourself, woman! We'll say another rosary and then I'll leave you home.' Stories of Ireland is a brilliant, colourful compendium of mid-century Irish experience from one of Ireland's greatest ever writers, Brian Friel. Demonstrating all...