The Peacock Room set in Sammezzano Castle by Merryn Corcoran

Submitted: 17th May 2019

A room of peacocks and secrets in Tuscany

Set against the stunning backdrop of Sammezzano Castle, past meets present in the glorious Tuscan sun! If ever there was a novel to transport you to a real life location of a gothic castle high up in the Tuscan hills, with years of secrets in its walls…. then this is the novel for you.

Allegra O’Brien has never forgotten her Italian grandfathers tales of the mysterious Peacock Room which inspires her to travel out to Tuscany to learn more about her heritage….and of course the mysteries within that room and castle….

BookTrail Travel to the locations in The Peacock Room

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One of the strongest and most striking locations I’ve ever come across in a novel in a long while. I had trouble believing such a fairytale like castle and room could exist. Happily it does. Although it’s fallen into disrepair now, the castle is very much a real fixture in the Tuscan countryside.

Allegra heads out there from England after her marriage collapses. Her grandfather has dementia but in his lucid moments often talks about a castle in Tuscany and so she heads out there to investigate. She needs a break and decides to spend her time looking into her family’s past. There’s a few dubious moments and bad decisions when she first arrives (Allegra, really) However, the mystery soon gets going and draws you deeper inside that castle and that room with the peacock colours….

It was the story about the family history and that gorgeous peacock room which grabbed me from the off. The grandfather had an interesting past! Sometimes this was overshadowed by family dramas and some very bad decisions on Allegra’s part but, on the whole, the mystery stood firm. I do think it would have been even stronger had it not been for the many moments of Allegra’s rather tangled love life though!

I will never forget this visit to Sammezzano Castle. How much time have I spent looking at the gorgeous Peacock Room and all that it represents. It’s a very clever idea for a novel as it’s real, mysterious, crumbling, gothic and has that dark fairytale vibe about it.

The vivid description of the castle and its many unique rooms (365 one for every day of the year!) is a character in itself, one that will make you want to transport yourself there immediately.

And in a book where a location is such a strong feature and character, that’s no bad thing.