BOOKS

GIRL BY SEA

From her rooftop terrace, Penelope Green looks out across the sparkling waters of the Bay of Naples, and down into a garden of lemon trees and magnolias. Has her Italian dream come true?

Imagine catching a ferry home and stepping on to a waterfront lined with multi-coloured buildings, busy with fishing boats leaving and couples strolling to their favourite cafe for an aperitif. For Penny and her new Italian love, Alfonso, the idyllic island of Procida can offer the life they are looking for. But first Penny has to find a way into its tight community. One thing she has in common with the locals is a love of food, so she sets herself a goal – to master the Procidan cuisine and become more than just a visitor.

Across kitchen tables, in bustling cafes, and over long lunches under vine-covered pergolas, Penny learns the art of Italian cooking, builds friendships and discovers the rhythms and secrets of island life.

Girl by Sea is the conclusion to Penelope Green’s bestselling trilogy of memoirs about her life in Italy, which began with When in Rome and was followed by See Naples and Die.

“A charming story … what makes the book so special is the way Green captures the intimate and friendly fabric of daily life on this largely untouched island.” - Bruce Elder, The Sydney Morning Herald

SEE NAPLES AND DIE 

The Crimes and Passions of Italy’s darkest jewel

After three years living and working in Italy, Australian journalist Penelope Green needs a reason to stick around – true love or gainful employment…..When a job comes up in Naples – crime capital of Italy, home of pizza and the Camorra, and crouched at the foot of a volcano – Penny launches herself into the unknown. With her innate curiousity and eye for detail, Penny prises Naples open to show us the real city, in all its splendour… and all its depravity. She uncovers a chaotic metropolic where crime and poverty blur with abundant natural beauty, and where the shadow of Mount Vesuvius is a daily reminder that life must be lived for the moment. And when Penny meets a bass player in a local band, she thinks she might have found that other reason to stay…

“a bewitching true tale of a tantalising city. Magnifico!” – Marie Claire

“frank, funny and honest” - Notebook

 

WHEN IN ROME

Chasing La Dolce Vita

We’ve all dreamed of an exotic life in a European city, but who actually goes? When In Rome shows what can happen when you are courageous (and perhaps crazy) enough to chase this dream….With her thirtieth birthday on the horizon and her comfortable life in Sydney outside her front door, Penelope Green decided it was now or never. Undaunted by the fact she spoke no Italian, had no job, no friends and nowhere to live, and armed with only irresistible optomism and a fair dash of bravery, she was determined to carve out her own slice of la dolce vita. 

‘Charming’ - Vogue Australia

“Written engagingly and with great honesty, Penelope Green’s experiences definitely do not include restoring any farmhouses. Funny and full of heart” – The Australian Women’s Weekly

“descriptions of Rome so vivid you can smell the coffee” – Sun-Herald