I’ve always wanted to write a book set in Italy, ever since my husband and I went on a cruise soon after we got married fifteen years ago. Our ship stopped at Santa Margherita for the day and so after exploring that part of the beautiful Italian Riviera for the first time, we hopped on a bus and went along the coastal road to Portofino, just as Grace and Ellis do. I was so enthralled by the beautiful, unspoilt scenery combined with the timelessness glamour and so the memory of that day has stayed with me ever since.

What appealed to you about the dual narrative? You did something similar in The Secret of Orchard Cottage?

The present colliding with the past is very appealing to me – a modern-day woman discovering how a woman in the past lived her life, with all the similarities in experiences and emotions, even in very different social eras is quite incredible. I like being able to commemorate women and men from years gone by, to celebrate them and acknowledge the contribution and sacrifices they made so that we can live more freely today. I think I’ll always be in awe of women like Winnie in The Secret of Orchard Cottage and Connie and Jimmy in A Postcard from Italy.

The Second World War period seems to hold a fascination for you …

It sure does. I love all things vintage, such as the décor, furniture, clothes, make up and perfume during that period from the 1930’s through to the end of the 1950’s, but more importantly I’m in awe of how ordinary people lived and in some cases, did extraordinary things during wartime. I have fond memories of my nan, Edie, telling me about her experience working as a Nippy in the Lyons Corner House on the Strand in London and so it was wonderful to be able to immortalise her in A Postcard from Italy with a mention on VE Day when she takes Connie’s friend, Bunty, through to the staff room to fix her victory roll after it becomes dishevelled in the celebratory conga. It is these little anecdotes that appeal to me, and the nostalgia of a different time where people seemed kinder and more inclined to come together to help one another; or maybe this is just fanciful thinking. Either way, it appeals to me to keep alive the memory of those extraordinary times during WW2 and then the enormous social change that happened in the aftermath of war and beyond.

The idea of finding treasure in an unexpected place is so compelling, have you ever done that yourself, like Grace does at Cohen’s?