Elementary Secondary Higher Ed Common Reads
0 0
Download high-resolution image

A Tuscan Childhood

A Memoir

Part of Vintage Departures

Author Kinta Beevor
Paperback
$18.00 US
Knopf | Vintage
On sale Feb 08, 2000 | 320 Pages | 9780375704260
Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

See Additional Formats
All the beauty and enchantment of the Tuscan countryside is captured in this exquisite memoir of Kinta Beevor's idyllic bohemian childhood, spent with her family in their Italian castle in the years between the two world wars.

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.
Kinta Beevor was born in 1911 in Northbourne, England, and died in 1995. Born Carinthia Waterfield, she was the daughter of Aubrey Waterfield, a painter, and Lina Waterfield (granddaughter of Lucie Duff Gordon, who wrote the Victorian best-seller Letters from Egypt in 1865). From the age of five and until she was sent to boarding school in England, Kinta was raised in the Fortezza della Brunella in northern Tuscany, an inhospitable castle on a rock with views of the Carraras. In 1993, at the age of 82, she published A Tuscan Childhood, the story of her youth in Italy. View titles by Kinta Beevor

About

All the beauty and enchantment of the Tuscan countryside is captured in this exquisite memoir of Kinta Beevor's idyllic bohemian childhood, spent with her family in their Italian castle in the years between the two world wars.

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.

Author

Kinta Beevor was born in 1911 in Northbourne, England, and died in 1995. Born Carinthia Waterfield, she was the daughter of Aubrey Waterfield, a painter, and Lina Waterfield (granddaughter of Lucie Duff Gordon, who wrote the Victorian best-seller Letters from Egypt in 1865). From the age of five and until she was sent to boarding school in England, Kinta was raised in the Fortezza della Brunella in northern Tuscany, an inhospitable castle on a rock with views of the Carraras. In 1993, at the age of 82, she published A Tuscan Childhood, the story of her youth in Italy. View titles by Kinta Beevor

Additional formats

Other books in this series

Related Articles

Books for National Depression Education and Awareness Month
Psychology

Books for National Depression Education and Awareness Month

For National Depression Education and Awareness Month in October, we are sharing a collection of titles that educates and informs on depression, including personal stories from those who have experienced depression and topics that range from causes and symptoms of depression to how to develop coping mechanisms to battle depression.

Read more

Books for National Depression Education and Awareness Month

Psychology
Literature

Horror Titles for the Halloween Season

In celebration of the Halloween season, we are sharing horror books that are aligned with the themes of the holiday: the sometimes unknown and scary creatures and witches. From classic ghost stories and popular novels that are celebrated today, in literature courses and beyond, to contemporary stories about the monsters that hide in the dark, our list

Read more

Horror Titles for the Halloween Season

Literature
History Gender and Sexuality Studies

Books for LGBTQIA+ History Month

For LGBTQIA+ History Month in October, we’re celebrating the shared history of individuals within the community and the importance of the activists who have fought for their rights and the rights of others. We acknowledge the varying and diverse experiences within the LGBTQIA+ community that have shaped history and have led the way for those

Read more

Books for LGBTQIA+ History Month

History Gender and Sexuality Studies
Subscribe

Penguin Random House Higher Education

© 2025 Penguin Random House

Back to Top
0
    • 0
    Wish List (0)