The Ghosts Of Rome
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Publishing:29th Jan '26
£9.99
This title is due to be published on 29th January, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
This paperback is available in another edition too:
- Hardback£20.00(9781787303874)
'As thrilling, beautiful and sensational a novel as you'll read this year or any year' Sunday Times
February 1944. Six months since Nazi forces occupied Rome.
Inside the war-torn city, the Contessa Giovanna Landini works for the band of Escape Line activists known as ‘the Choir’. Her mission is to smuggle Allied soldiers to safety, all under the nose of Gestapo boss Paul Hauptmann.
During a ferocious morning air raid a mysterious parachutist lands in Rome and disappears into the backstreets. Is he an ally or an imposter? His fate will come to put the whole Escape Line at risk.
Meanwhile, Hauptmann’s attention has landed on the Contessa. As his fascination grows, she is pulled into a dangerous game with him – one where the consequences could be lethal.
'Thrilling, terrifying and entertaining' Liz Nugent
'Vivid and moving' Guardian
‘A stellar piece of storytelling’ Daily Mail
'Not just a wartime thriller, but a meditation on how we remember, how we resist and how, even in the darkest times, humanity endures' New York Times
The tension doesn’t slack an inch… It is haunting, sensuous and immaculately constructed — without sacrificing any thrills * Sunday Times, *Summer Reads of 2025* *
Blazes with imaginative flair and narrative energy... packed with sensuously evoked reminders of Rome's rich past...haunted and haunting * Sunday Times *
It was hard to turn pages fast enough to keep up with the rapid-fire pace of The Ghosts of Rome. Joseph O'Connor lures readers into a little known, but important, facet of World War II history and keeps them hooked until the very last page. -- Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling author of THE MYSTERY OF MRS. CHRISTIE
Digs ever deeper into the lives of the everyday heroes of a war-ravaged city, unearthing stories of remarkable courage and ingenuity that glitter from the pages of this tense, polyphonic narrative -- Sarah Gilmartin
Breathtakingly good writing - O'Connor puts you right there, centre stage in the story and never lets you go -- Peter James, on MY FATHER'S HOUSE
O'Connor is on stellar form with this ensemble thriller...an expert storyteller * Daily Mail, on MY FATHER'S HOUSE *
A masterwork... so urgent, so incredibly alive... A searing and beautiful example of storytelling's infinite importance -- Donal Ryan, on MY FATHER'S HOUSE
Impressive and pleasurable...evokes a city in peril with wonderful vitality * Financial Times, on MY FATHER'S HOUSE *
A literary thriller of the highest order...his razor-sharp dialogue is to be savoured, and he employs dark humour to great effect. The plot twists keep on coming * Observer, on MY FATHER'S HOUSE *
A mesmerising, tragic, horrifying, utterly unputdownable story. . . A deeply affecting read with an ending that’s sad yet life affirming, this is an outstanding choice for fans of WWII fiction and of writers like Anthony Doerr * Booklist *
ISBN: 9781529967029
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 35mm
Weight: 500g
384 pages