La Cucina

A love song to Italy, La Cucina is a celebration of all things sensual. It spills over with intense images, colours, fragrances, and exuberant characters, all reflecting the splendour of the Silician countryside in which it is set.

"Succulent saga...with a sensuous tone, a folkloric narrative style and a most original set of characters, La Cucina could well satisfy the hungriest of appetites."  -  People Magazine

Rose Fiore is a solitary middle-aged librarian who has resigned herself to a loveless life and expresses her passionate nature through her delicious cooking. Then, one day, she meets an enigmatic chef, known only as l'Inglese, whose research on the heritage of Sicilian cuisine leads him into Rosa's library and into her heart. They share one sublime summer of discovery, during which l'Inglese awakens the power of Rosa's sexuality, and together they reach new heights of culinary passion. When he vanishes unexpectedly, Rosa returns to her family's estate to grieve for her lost love only to find a new fulfilment as well as many surprises in the magic of her beloved Cucina.

"Debut fiction (subtitled “a novel of rapture”) about a lonely, middle-aged librarian who experiences a sexual reawakening intimately linked to her sensual kitchen skills.  British author Prior’s affection for Italy, especially its food, is clearly genuine, but her patronizing portrait of the Sicilian peasantry and Mafia verges on caricature... Less a banquet of the senses than a junk-food gorge."  -  Kirkus Reviews

La Cucina combines the sensuous pleasures of love and food, simmering in the heat of a Sicilian kitchen.