When Polly and Theo Noble book the Casa Luna, near Cortona, for their summer holiday they plan a civilised Anglo-American house-party with Theo's brother Daniel, Daniel's girlfriend Ellen, and Polly's old schoolfriend Hemani in an idyllic Tuscan setting. Their children Tania and Robbie will have Hemani's son Bron to play with, and Theo's mother, Betty is expected keep her grandchildren under control by force of a personality that can curdle mayonnaise at a hundred paces. Even Ivo Sponge, the notorious journalist with whom Ellen was once entangled, should do little to spoil their pleasure. But the Casa Luna is a place where strange things happen, and anyone who lives there risks unexpected joys and sorrows. As both children and adults find it increasingly difficult to tell what is fantasy and what is reality, the tiny winged creatures who have persuaded Tania to brew a love potion start to take over ... The result is that of the four couples who have begun the holiday together, all have swapped partners by the end (and one has swapped sex of partner!). This is a subtle and delectable comedy of manners about love, lies and the dangers of a strong imagination ...
Love In Idleness
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Review
This is a life-affirming read - take it on holiday, but leave the rest of the party at home (Bel Mooney, THE TIMES )
[the] romantic complications, comic set pieces and heart-warming conclusion make this the most accomplished reinvention of Shakespeare's Dream since Peter Brook's influential RSC production in 1970 (Michael Arditti, DAILY MAIL )
The novel works brilliantly as a sharp and funny analysis of modern mores, a magical story of transformation - and only after that a clever literary joke (Suzi Feay, INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY )
An intelligent and satisfying romantic comedy. (WOMAN AND HOME )
[the] romantic complications, comic set pieces and heart-warming conclusion make this the most accomplished reinvention of Shakespeare's Dream since Peter Brook's influential RSC production in 1970 (Michael Arditti, DAILY MAIL )
The novel works brilliantly as a sharp and funny analysis of modern mores, a magical story of transformation - and only after that a clever literary joke (Suzi Feay, INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY )
An intelligent and satisfying romantic comedy. (WOMAN AND HOME )
Book Description
The Tuscan dream holiday turns into a nightmare, before a romantically satisfying - and surprising - resolution. An evocative and contemporary comedy of delights.
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First Sentence
The long wooden shutters of the Casa Luna, bolted against heat and crime, were flung open, and the light of a new day flooded in. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
The long wooden shutters of the Casa Luna, bolted against heat and crime, were flung open, and the light of a new day flooded in. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Once again, Amanda Craig has woven a spell over this reader! What a truly delightful novel - lighter than In a Dark Wood, but no less funny, wise and beautifully written. Concerning a group of friends and relations who go away for a fortnight to the Casa Luna, where their bored children create mischief, it explores the difference in love, work and generosity between English and American people. The characters are completely believeable, moving in and out of the serious and the comic, and the style is dazzling. A modern version of A Midsummer Night's Dream that never exaggerates its jokes or its sources, Love in Idleness is the ultimate novel to take on vacation. It will make you fall in love with it, just like the "little western flower" used by Oberon. Betty, the mother-in-law from hell, is a creation of genius.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By "stableboy3"
Format:Hardcover
I bought this as a Christmas present for my partner, and thought I'd just read a chapter first. I then had to lock myself away to read the rest. I can't see how anyone could dislike such a charming novel (except those envious of Craig's prodigious talent). Yes, the characters are all middle-class Americans and Brits - but aren't they in most fiction? That doesn't make them smug, as someone has claimed - in fact, at several points I wanted to kick Polly, the self-sacrificing wife and mother, in the pants for being so depressed, or did until the real reasons for it were revealed.
As other reviewers have said, the novel is a version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, with the rude mechanicals left out (a pity - I was looking forward to some extra comedy there). Apart from switching the sex of all Shakespeare's characters (it is the women who pursue the men, for instance)its real touch of brilliance lies in making the three children, bored silly by holidaying in Tuscany, into the fairies. The clash between the children's world and the adults is beautifully described, but underneath it the novel asks questions about the imagination and its freedom to upset daily life, and about the choices people make when in love that are serious and worth asking. I didn't think British writers wrote novels as satisfying and intelligently witty as this any more.
As other reviewers have said, the novel is a version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, with the rude mechanicals left out (a pity - I was looking forward to some extra comedy there). Apart from switching the sex of all Shakespeare's characters (it is the women who pursue the men, for instance)its real touch of brilliance lies in making the three children, bored silly by holidaying in Tuscany, into the fairies. The clash between the children's world and the adults is beautifully described, but underneath it the novel asks questions about the imagination and its freedom to upset daily life, and about the choices people make when in love that are serious and worth asking. I didn't think British writers wrote novels as satisfying and intelligently witty as this any more.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By "rubypalmer"
Format:Hardcover
It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a novel as much as I did this one. It takes a simple idea - the holiday from hell, shared with family and friends - and gives it a fresh twist in modelling it on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. As a result, what at first seems to be no more than a light-hearted comedy of manners deepens into an exploration of the hazy territory between love and the imagination. The really inspired part is that the three children in the novel (Bron, Tania and Robbie) play the part of the fairies, causing the adults in their lives to fall in love with each other. The characters are all sharply defined, and the landscape around Cortona vividly evoked. An intelligent, playful and sympathetic novel it should charm many other readers besides this one.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tuscan holiday
I was gripped by this clever and amusing book from the moment I opened it and, like the interesting cast of characters, found myself slowly drawn into the long, drowsy midsummer... Read more
Published 11 days ago by P. Ashley
5.0 out of 5 stars
I've had a holiday like this one . . . .
I'm surprised at some of the negative reviews of this wonderful book. I first read it when it was first published; that was just after my Wife and I'd had a holday in Umbria (Todi... Read more
Published 23 months ago by John Mccartney
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Magic of Italy
A lovely, moving and sometimes very funny adaptation of the story of Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Kate Hopkins
1.0 out of 5 stars
Really disappointing
I loved Hearts and Minds by this author so was really looking forward to this book. What a huge disappointment it turned out to be. Read more
Published on 3 Sep 2010 by F. Goble
1.0 out of 5 stars
Tedious read
I found this book truly awful.
The characters are one dimensional, the plot is unbelievable and awful. the dialogue is dreadful. Read more
The characters are one dimensional, the plot is unbelievable and awful. the dialogue is dreadful. Read more
Published on 1 Mar 2009 by Ally Bally G
5.0 out of 5 stars
completely delicious, unexpected rom-com
I'm intrigued by the very different readers' reviews this novel has gained. Not having read any of Craig's previous books, I have ot say that this one made me immediately buy the... Read more
Published on 20 Aug 2004
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Beautifully Composed and Magical Escape
A group of American and British people on holiday travel to the idyllic Italian setting of Casa Luna, Cortona for a fortnight and find that their expectations about what will... Read more
Published on 31 July 2004 by Eric Anderson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Like eating a box of chocolates
I found reading this book a real treat - like eating a box of chocolates - you just have to sink into it and let the story carry you away. Read more
Published on 30 July 2004 by Amy Smith
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lovely countryside, less appealing characters
This book seems to lie uneasily between chick-lit and travelogue, with the travelogue side winning - it certainly made me want to visit the area described, but the characters... Read more
Published on 21 July 2004
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ivo Sponge is back!
If you haven't read A Vicious Circle then you probably won't understand the thrill of encountering this irresistibly awful man again. Read more
Published on 18 Jun 2004 by "amy17148"
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