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|title=The Gypsy Tearoom

|sort=Gypsy Tearoom

|author=Nicky Pellegrino

|genre=Women's Fiction

|summary=An enchanting look at the way of life in a small Italian town, brought to life with fabulous descriptions of the scenery and the food. Unrequited love and a hearty helping of lust keep the story going strong throughout.

|buy=Yes

|borrow=Yes

|pages=400

|publisher=Orion

|isbn=978-0752873626

}}

Raffaella, a fisherman's daughter, has spent her life living among the fishes at the bottom of the hill. When she marries into the wealthy Russo family she moves up in the world, literally, and starts a new life for herself and her husband in the town at the summit. But when the unthinkable happens and her husband dies suddenly, she is left to fend for herself. As she increasingly becomes the subject of the sort of malicious gossip that comes with small town life, Raffaella is at a bit of a loose end, and jumps at the chance of a job as housekeeper and cook at a nearby summer home. While there, she meets the handsome "Americano", Eduardo, who has been brought in by the local priests to erect a magnificent statue reminiscent of, and set to rival, Rio's cliff-top affair. This statue is set to divide the town's residents, and Raffaella's own family, and tensions soon being to mount as the project begins. But, as she goes about the day to day chores of her new life, Raffaella soon realises that there's a whole other world out there that, until now, she has been oblivious to. Uncovering tales of deceit, mystery, murder, lust and lost loves, she begins to realise the struggles she is facing are not too different from those of her friends and neighbours.

{{amazontext|amazon=0752873628}}

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