Chiara Valerio: The Little I Knew

Heron Books is delighted to welcome Chiara Valerio to celebrate the publication of The Little I Knew.

Do join us to meet Chiara, hear a discussion about the book and get your copies signed on 18 June, part of our Independent Bookshop Week partnership with publisher Foundry Editions.

Chiara Valerio was born in Scauri in 1978 and lives in Rome. She has published essays, novels and short stories, including: La gioia piccola d’esser quasi salvi (2009), Spiaggia libera tutti (2010), Il cuore non si vede (2019), La matematica è politica (2020), Nessuna scuola mi consola (2021), Così per sempre (2022), La tecnologia è religione (2023)

The event is free but please do RSVP to read@heronbooks.co.uk so that we have an idea of numbers.

About the book:
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. It was shortlisted for the 2024 Premio Strega.

Translated from Italian by Ailsa Wood:
Ailsa is a translator from Italian and French. Her work on Stafano Benni’s monologues from Le Beatrice was the winner of the prestigious John Dryden Translation Prize in 2022.  Besides her work as a literary translator, she works across various related sectors including wine and tourism. Ailsa has and M.A. in Literary Translation (with Distinction) from the University of East Anglia and lives in Italy.

This event has been made possible with the support of the Italian Cultural Institute in London.