Spanish novel La Toffana

Submitted: 13th March 2026

Spanish novel La Toffana

Destination

Rome, Italy

1658

To meet the woman from history who was accused of creating poisons which she would then sell to women who wanted control from their husbands. Where death by poison was the only way out.

Locations in La Toffana

boarding pass new

Giulia Tofana is associated with the poison known as Aqua Tofana. She is said to have created a poison network in Rome in the 17th century.

Location map of La Toffana

toffana

Review

There are a few books on this woman – fictional accounts of course – namely A Poisoner’s Tale and The Book of Secrets. So, I was intrigued to read this!

I loved entering the world of this poisoner again. Just as well we can meet people like this in books – as I don’t think I would be brave enough to go round her house for a cuppa in real life.

I knew the story and the woman herself due to the other books and the factual accounts I have read about her since. However, this novel felt fresh and unique. It really focuses on Giulia and the context in which her crimes were said to have happened. I got the sense (maybe as the novel was in Spanish which is closer to Italian than English) that the conversations felt more real and more authentic than I had read before. The world felt closer to the woman and what she did and the atmosphere felt even more claustrophobic than in English. Is this a language thing? Maybe it’s just me but knowing the story but finding another level of it was very exciting to me. The layers unlocked by Spanish were wonderful to discover.

I felt at times I was looking directly into Guilia’s eyes and that was quite the experience!

Am I brave enough to learn Italian to read about her in her native tongue? Maybe not 😉