In Scauri, an end of the line seaside town forty miles or so from Rome, Vittoria dies unexpectedly in her bath. Whilst the townsfolk meet the event with sad but respectful southern Italian silence, Lea, the town lawyer, wants to investigate. Who was Vittoria, what were her secrets, why had she mysteriously arrived in Scauri thirty years earlier? And was her relationship with Lea all that it seemed?

In this unforgettable portrait of a small town and the women who live there, reverberations from the past catch up with present. Through the silences, Vittoria's story is revealed and everything - passions, emotions, and relationships - changes forever.

Novelist, editor, critic, cultural commentator and mathematician Chiara Valerio is a sensation in Italy and The Little I Knew is a huge bestseller.



With intelligence, irony and tenderness, Valerio radially questions the nature of desire and its energy



Whodunnit, an investigation into small town life, class, secrets and lies make this a classic. Valerio has written a hugely original literary novel that is accessible at the same time.



The Little I Knew makes you want to live. It makes you want to go back to your home town, if only for a few days, and live.



... A thrilling examination of the black hole of society and the secrets people keep from each other and themselves.