Belladonna

Author: Anbara Salam

Format: Paperback

'A beguiling whirlwind of love and obsession' — Elle

It is summer, 1956, when fifteen-year-old Bridget first meets Isabella. In their conservative Connecticut town, Isabella is a breath of fresh air. She is worldly, alluring and brazen: an enigma.

When they receive an offer to study at the Academy in Italy, Bridget is thrilled. This is her ticket to Europe and - better still - a chance to spend nine whole months with her glamorous and unpredictable best friend.

There, lodged in a convent of nuns who have taken a vow of silence, the two girls move towards a passionate but fragile intimacy. As the year rolls on, Bridget grows increasingly fearful that she will lose Isabella's affections - and the more desperate she gets, the greater the lengths she will go to keep her.

Belladonna is a hypnotizing coming-of age story set against the stunning and evocative backdrop of rural Northern Italy. Anbara Salam tells a story of friendship and obsession, desire and betrayal, and the lies we tell in order to belong.

'An enthralling tale of race, secrets and the desire to belong' i

'Lush and languid, this sultry coming-of-age tale captures a fractured friendship and the yearnings of girlhood' — Daily Mail

'Raw and tender . . . this searingly honest coming of age story will steal your heart' — Sunday Mirror

'The Virgin Suicides meets Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr Ripley, this unputdownable and lush novel had me entranced' — Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti

About the Author

Anbara Salam is half-Palestinian and half-Scottish, and grew up in London. She has a PhD in Theology and is now living and working in Oxford. She spent six months living on a small South Pacific island, and her experiences there served as the inspiration for her first novel, Things Bright and Beautiful.

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