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The Bells of Rome
Flavia Scott, a young English girl's temporary job takes her to Rome. She is thrilled to be in her mother's birthplace, but doesn't prepare her for the intrigue she finds surrounding her hosts.... It is a relief for Flavia to involve herself in her work and to admire the wonders of ancient Rome - but there are mortal attempts... How Flavia risks her life to foil a murder, and how she solves the mystery, makes an exciting and absorbing story.
151 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1975
25 people want to read
About the author
Mabel Esther Allan
230 books33 followersA prolific British children's author, who also wrote under the pen-names Jean Estoril, Priscilla Hagon, Anne Pilgrim, and Kathleen M. Pearcey, Mabel Esther Allan is particularly known for her school and ballet stories.
Born in 1915 at Wallasey on the Wirral Peninsula, Allan knew from an early age that she wanted to be an author, and published her first short stories in the 1930s. Her writing career was interrupted by World War II, during which time she served in the Women's Land Army and taught school in Liverpool, but the 1948 publication of The Glen Castle Mystery saw it begin to take off in earnest. Influenced by Scottish educator A.S. Neill, Allan held progressive views about education, views that often found their way into her books, particularly her school stories. She was interested in folk dance and ballet - another common subject in her work - and was a frequent traveler. She died in 1998.
Born in 1915 at Wallasey on the Wirral Peninsula, Allan knew from an early age that she wanted to be an author, and published her first short stories in the 1930s. Her writing career was interrupted by World War II, during which time she served in the Women's Land Army and taught school in Liverpool, but the 1948 publication of The Glen Castle Mystery saw it begin to take off in earnest. Influenced by Scottish educator A.S. Neill, Allan held progressive views about education, views that often found their way into her books, particularly her school stories. She was interested in folk dance and ballet - another common subject in her work - and was a frequent traveler. She died in 1998.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 1, 2022
Written in 1975 but surprisingly and coincidentally topical:
1. On 25 June 2021, the hypogea of the Colosseum opened to the public, who can now visit the lower levels. (Spoiler if I explain why this is topical, so you will have to take my word for it for now);
2. 15 November 2021 - two American morons sneak into the Colosseum with beers for a sunrise TikTok video, or something along those lines, at 05:30AM and are slapped with a 800 Euro fine for illegal entry. (Another spoiler here, two actually, if I expand upon the relevance. But you get to see the Colosseum at night).
Flavia Scott is an 18 year old temporary secretary from New York, employed by and travelling with a Mrs. Emily Agnew, a widowed 45-year old travel writer, who is researching Rome for her next book. Agnew is dowdy, insensitive, with thick "skin like a rhinoceros", and liable to run roughshod over anyone. She's not unkind, but she prefers places to people, and always gets what she wants. (I cannot help feeling that there are more than a few elements of autobiographical content from Mabel Esther Allan in this character, which endeared me to her more than otherwise merited).
Agnew forces herself and her trailing young secretary on the Giannino family who live in a magnificent villa on the Via di Porta San Sebastiano near the Baths of Caracalla. Ethel Giannino had been a friend, or at least an acquaintence, back in New York before she had married Luigi Giannino, heir to a large legacy and family business in the marble industry. Despite being unwelcome, Agnew refuses to be put out or to alter her plans (again, I couldn't help but smirk at this lady!), and gets on with her work. The story is told by Flavia, and the reader travels with her to all the usual Roman sights and landmarks.
This is a quick read at 151 pages. I think it is ideal for its intended YA audience - the mystery and thriller aspects of it are fairly predictable and pedestrian; and there's light romance, which seemed a little old-fashioned at times, both in a charming, by-gone era sort of way, and in another cringey, "What's consent/mutual desire have to do with anything?!" sort of way in describing the circumstances of a kiss. (Also another reason to read books outside of your era - it helps to see the world differently at times, for context, rather than getting too carried away by the flow of present tides).
It was almost immediately disappointing for me, however, having previously read about 9 other books by this author: I was keenly awaiting her vibrant descriptions of each and every location, and as the story breezily opens upon Stazione Termini and the taxi ride down the Via Cavour, "the great church of Santa Maria Maggiore suddenly appeared on our left." Well, that's it. That's all she says. Colour? Shape? Peopled? Awe-striking? We don't know (I had to Google it to remind myself what it looked like, and normally MEA draws a pretty picture so I don't have to!). That was the first paragraph, and by the second page, we've already flown past the Colosseum and the Roman Forum (right between them, which I noted is no longer a thoroughfare for traffic and is pedestrian only!) and past the Palatine Hill:
Not terrible, but that arch is the Arch of Constantine, a gorgeous monument in real life, and Mrs. Agnew was supposedly a trained archaeologist before she was a celebrated travel writer. Wouldn't she be proudly demonstrating her knowledge and extemporizing on the sights as they whizzed by? So I had already felt that this fell a little short of expectations by the first and second pages.
Mabel Esther Allan can make you see, smell, hear and taste the village of Andermatt or the isolated valleys beyond Kandersteg in the Bernese Oberland of the Swiss Alps. I have read her book, Blue Nets and Balconies set in Brittany near Concarneau that literally had me calling in contacts for future vacations - I could see it all, and even smell the less than pleasant wafts coming off of the harbour quays. Her books are typically light and sweet - like going on a relaxing and beautiful vacation.
I have been to Rome, and fairly recently. And to a great many of the places described in this book. I remember what Stazione Termini smelled like, and, sadly, also the urine-drenched outer walls of the neighbouring Baths of Diocletian (is nothing sacred, people?! Yeesh!). I remember the food (I had done my homework and pre-trip dinner reservations, so we did alright!). I remember the awful dirth of available toilets in Rome, and the horrible state I found each and every one of them in. I remember the wafts of rotting, bitter oranges in the Giardino degli Aranci high above the rather rancid River Tiber, and the heavenly gelati flavours (zabaglione, pistachio and straticella)... I am not a skilled writer, but Allan usually is. This book just seemed about 50 pages too short, and a little like she had written it to fit a very specific format. Again, for the intended audience and purpose, this was hitting all the right keys, though even I thought it was a bit sparse on the sex appeal side of things (if you're going to draw attention to the litheness and hips of a sexy Italian 22 year old man, you really ought to let that sexiness shine forth in the following scenes!). Overall, though, it just seemed to be a little flat for what I have come to expect from MEA. But it could be that my expectations were too high for a book on the Eternal City, where atmosphere and details come at you from every direction, constantly.
Giulio the gardener was spelled "Guilio" on a subsequent phase, which made me smile - evidently the editor only caught the one (the editor on The Vine-Clad Hill never noticed the poor maid "Guilia"'s misspelled name at all!). And there was an "enought" somewhere towards the end. Taken together, this one seemed churned out, quickly, for a particular market. And it's a pity, because with just maybe 20 more pages to let MEA do her thing, this could have been a corker.
1. On 25 June 2021, the hypogea of the Colosseum opened to the public, who can now visit the lower levels. (Spoiler if I explain why this is topical, so you will have to take my word for it for now);
2. 15 November 2021 - two American morons sneak into the Colosseum with beers for a sunrise TikTok video, or something along those lines, at 05:30AM and are slapped with a 800 Euro fine for illegal entry. (Another spoiler here, two actually, if I expand upon the relevance. But you get to see the Colosseum at night).
Flavia Scott is an 18 year old temporary secretary from New York, employed by and travelling with a Mrs. Emily Agnew, a widowed 45-year old travel writer, who is researching Rome for her next book. Agnew is dowdy, insensitive, with thick "skin like a rhinoceros", and liable to run roughshod over anyone. She's not unkind, but she prefers places to people, and always gets what she wants. (I cannot help feeling that there are more than a few elements of autobiographical content from Mabel Esther Allan in this character, which endeared me to her more than otherwise merited).
Agnew forces herself and her trailing young secretary on the Giannino family who live in a magnificent villa on the Via di Porta San Sebastiano near the Baths of Caracalla. Ethel Giannino had been a friend, or at least an acquaintence, back in New York before she had married Luigi Giannino, heir to a large legacy and family business in the marble industry. Despite being unwelcome, Agnew refuses to be put out or to alter her plans (again, I couldn't help but smirk at this lady!), and gets on with her work. The story is told by Flavia, and the reader travels with her to all the usual Roman sights and landmarks.
This is a quick read at 151 pages. I think it is ideal for its intended YA audience - the mystery and thriller aspects of it are fairly predictable and pedestrian; and there's light romance, which seemed a little old-fashioned at times, both in a charming, by-gone era sort of way, and in another cringey, "What's consent/mutual desire have to do with anything?!" sort of way in describing the circumstances of a kiss. (Also another reason to read books outside of your era - it helps to see the world differently at times, for context, rather than getting too carried away by the flow of present tides).
It was almost immediately disappointing for me, however, having previously read about 9 other books by this author: I was keenly awaiting her vibrant descriptions of each and every location, and as the story breezily opens upon Stazione Termini and the taxi ride down the Via Cavour, "the great church of Santa Maria Maggiore suddenly appeared on our left." Well, that's it. That's all she says. Colour? Shape? Peopled? Awe-striking? We don't know (I had to Google it to remind myself what it looked like, and normally MEA draws a pretty picture so I don't have to!). That was the first paragraph, and by the second page, we've already flown past the Colosseum and the Roman Forum (right between them, which I noted is no longer a thoroughfare for traffic and is pedestrian only!) and past the Palatine Hill:
"We sped past a great Roman arch and rushed on, with the Palatine Hill rising on our right. I could see that the grass was thick with wild flowers, yellow, blue, and white. And there were dark pine trees like umbrellas. Stone pines, I was to learn later."
Not terrible, but that arch is the Arch of Constantine, a gorgeous monument in real life, and Mrs. Agnew was supposedly a trained archaeologist before she was a celebrated travel writer. Wouldn't she be proudly demonstrating her knowledge and extemporizing on the sights as they whizzed by? So I had already felt that this fell a little short of expectations by the first and second pages.
Mabel Esther Allan can make you see, smell, hear and taste the village of Andermatt or the isolated valleys beyond Kandersteg in the Bernese Oberland of the Swiss Alps. I have read her book, Blue Nets and Balconies set in Brittany near Concarneau that literally had me calling in contacts for future vacations - I could see it all, and even smell the less than pleasant wafts coming off of the harbour quays. Her books are typically light and sweet - like going on a relaxing and beautiful vacation.
I have been to Rome, and fairly recently. And to a great many of the places described in this book. I remember what Stazione Termini smelled like, and, sadly, also the urine-drenched outer walls of the neighbouring Baths of Diocletian (is nothing sacred, people?! Yeesh!). I remember the food (I had done my homework and pre-trip dinner reservations, so we did alright!). I remember the awful dirth of available toilets in Rome, and the horrible state I found each and every one of them in. I remember the wafts of rotting, bitter oranges in the Giardino degli Aranci high above the rather rancid River Tiber, and the heavenly gelati flavours (zabaglione, pistachio and straticella)... I am not a skilled writer, but Allan usually is. This book just seemed about 50 pages too short, and a little like she had written it to fit a very specific format. Again, for the intended audience and purpose, this was hitting all the right keys, though even I thought it was a bit sparse on the sex appeal side of things (if you're going to draw attention to the litheness and hips of a sexy Italian 22 year old man, you really ought to let that sexiness shine forth in the following scenes!). Overall, though, it just seemed to be a little flat for what I have come to expect from MEA. But it could be that my expectations were too high for a book on the Eternal City, where atmosphere and details come at you from every direction, constantly.
Giulio the gardener was spelled "Guilio" on a subsequent phase, which made me smile - evidently the editor only caught the one (the editor on The Vine-Clad Hill never noticed the poor maid "Guilia"'s misspelled name at all!). And there was an "enought" somewhere towards the end. Taken together, this one seemed churned out, quickly, for a particular market. And it's a pity, because with just maybe 20 more pages to let MEA do her thing, this could have been a corker.
March 24, 2023
Eighteen year old Flavia has come to Rome as secretary to Mrs Agnew, a successful travel writer. Mrs Agnew expects to stay with friends in Rome, but when they arrive it seems the friends don’t want her. Nevertheless, Mrs Agnew, who is extremely thick skinned, insists on staying. But strange things begin to happen, and Flavia is worried, though Mrs Agnew is impervious to danger, and to the strained atmosphere in the house. A fairly entertaining mystery with some good descriptions of Rome, and of course a handsome boy appears in due course.
August 26, 2016
I found this book in a charity shop - a nice copy in a near perfect dust wrapper. I hadn't read any of Mabel Esther Allan's books before but I knew she was a collectable author who used to be frequently mentioned in Folly, and now some of her adult books are published by Greyladies. So I reckoned it had to be a good £3 worth.
This one is a young adult novel - the old-fashioned sort (i.e. no drugs or rape or teenage pregnancies) with a mystery to solve and a bit of light romance thrown in. I enjoyed it very much - the mystery was intriguing and perfectly believable, no spies or hidden treasure but a family plot, more character-driven than blood and thunder.
To me, the best thing about the book was the Rome setting. I will come back later to fill in more details but it has started me on a quest to read up as much as I can about Rome. I've been there before but now realise how much of the city I missed. Thanks to this book, I'm planning another visit.
This one is a young adult novel - the old-fashioned sort (i.e. no drugs or rape or teenage pregnancies) with a mystery to solve and a bit of light romance thrown in. I enjoyed it very much - the mystery was intriguing and perfectly believable, no spies or hidden treasure but a family plot, more character-driven than blood and thunder.
To me, the best thing about the book was the Rome setting. I will come back later to fill in more details but it has started me on a quest to read up as much as I can about Rome. I've been there before but now realise how much of the city I missed. Thanks to this book, I'm planning another visit.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews