A Tuscan Childhood

In 1916 Kinta's father, the painter Aubrey Waterfield, purchased the sixteenth-century Fortezza della Brunella in the Tuscan village of Aulla. There he and his writer wife lived at the heart of a vibrant artistic community that included Aldous Huxley, Bernard Berenson, and D. H. Lawrence, while Kinta and her brother explored the glorious countryside, helped with the grape and olive harvests, gathered wild mushrooms, and came to know and love the tough, resourceful Italians. With the coming of World War II the family had to leave Aulla; years later, though, Kinta would return to witness the courage and skill of the Tuscan people as they rebuilt their shattered world. Lyrical and witty, A Tuscan Childhood is alight with the timeless splendor of Italy.