About the Author

Helena Attlee is the author of the award-winning Sunday Times bestseller The Land Where Lemons Grow. She has worked in Italy for much of her life, and it has been the inspiration for many of her books.

Reviews

Utterly enthralling - a beautifully written voyage of discovery that takes us deep into the heart of music-making.
*author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel*

A beguiling quest that draws its author from the Italian heartland of the violin to the edge of Asiatic Russia, told with a passion that is at once gentle and compelling.
*author of To a Mountain in Tibet*

Elegant and ambitious ... Attlee pursues her story with honesty, diligence and open-mindedness ... An original and refreshingly unorthodox approach to history
*Guardian*

Attlee's love and unbounded enthusiasm for Italy shine through the pages ... She writes with zest about her sleuthing odyssey, her investigations into the art of lutherie and the dynasties dedicated to the crafting of these delightful objects. Whether it be a distant family history, the timber forests of the Dolomites or a momentary encounter, Attlee captures it in firm, fresh prose.
*Spectator*

Attlee writes with rare beauty and sensitivity about music, and her love of Italian culture positively sings from the pages ... Deeply absorbing
*BBC Music Magazine*

In limpid, searching prose, Helena Attlee shows us how music can cast spells but also bridge the distance of centuries.
*author of The Middlepause*

Charming and original ... Attlee has the natural storyteller's gift.
*author of Debussy*

Charming ... Attlee tells the story in easy, luminous prose, infused with a deep understanding for the way human value accrues mysteriously in things, and in the act of making them
*Telegraph*

Reading Lev's Violin is like listening to a fine instrument: thoroughly relaxing but also exciting, fun yet deeply serious ... with constant surprises and charms
*author of The Dark Heart of Italy*

Illuminating, engrossing ... a wide-ranging exploration of the history and cultural significance of the Italian violin
*TLS*