Untold Lessons

'Vivid, beguiling and needle-sharp. An unmissable literary thriller' Lucy Rose

'Rich and evocative, slippery and strange. I was hooked from the very first page' Chloë Ashby

What happens when the missing don't want to be found?

One morning, a teacher vanishes into the woods. As whispers fill her classroom, she melts into a shadowy wilderness, where the air hums with ancient birdsong and a blanket of moss covers her tracks.

Back in town, the mystery deepens. Who is Silvia really? An inscrutable misfit without a husband, devoted to her students until tragedy strikes. When a young boy stumbles upon her hiding place, it seems the search may be over. But is Silvia ready to return?

Praise for Untold Lessons:'Satisfying and deeply felt' Irish Times

'Mysterious and elegant' Veronica Raimo'A strong debut by an emerging novelist and a loving work of restitution' TLS

'Moving and thought-provoking' Glamour Magazine

'One of Italy's most exciting new feminist authors' Service95

'Beautiful. . . a rare study of communal grief' Telegraph

'A book full of upended expectations' Guardian



Maddalena Vaglio Tanet studied Literature at the University of Pisa and at Columbia University in New York. She recently moved to the Netherlands, where she works as a literary scout. She has published poetry in Italian and German and three children's books. Untold Lessons is her first novel. It was shortlisted for the Strega Prize, the Flaiano Book Prize, the Fiesole Book Prize, and was awarded the Segafredo Prize for a movie adaptation. It is being translated into several languages.