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High Tide
Not yet published
Expected 5 Nov 26Kindle Edition
Expected publication November 5, 2026
About the author
Livia Franchini
7 books26 followersLivia Franchini is a writer and translator from Tuscany, Italy. She has translated Michael Donaghy, Natalia Ginzburg and James Tiptree Jr. among many others. She is the author of one novel, SHELF LIFE (Transworld, 2019) and one poetry pamphlet, OUR AVAILABLE MAGIC (Makina Books, 2019). The Italian translation of Shelf Life, GUSCI (Mondadori, trans. Veronica Raimo) won the Premio Letterario Pisa first novel award in 2020.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
** Spoilers below **
This has a great opening and it soon became clear that there were obvious intertexts with the Mary and Percy Bysshe Shelley story, though that's not mentioned in the blurb. Here Peter Shelley is the brilliant artist, Mary Godwin, natch, the student who, in the 'now' sections set thirty years later, is a cult horror novelist whose debut was 'that creepy, lyrical novella I wrote in my early twenties... the stream of consciousness of a monstrous creature abandoned by her maker' - a clear reference to Frankenstein. The intensity of the early relationship between Shelley and Mary as students at Goldsmiths is well done with enough variation on the underlying story for it to feel creative and interesting.
But once they leave London, it feels like the well-known parameters switch in and take over this re-writing: Lord Noel Byrne (Byron), Teresa Guiccioli (Byron's later mistress, here moved back in the story to that fateful summer in Italy), Mary's stepsister Clare (Clare Clairmont) and a devilish Edward Trelawny all pile into the narrative and the creative muscle seems to slacken - it feels like both characterisation and events in the story depend overly on the story that we already know, and there isn't quite enough variation to continue to hold my interest.
In the end, this feels too wedded to the original story and, after an intriguing start, doesn't continue to forge its own trajectory for this reader. I'm interested in why the blurb avoids even suggesting that this is a retelling of the Shelley/Mary Shelley story - and how other readers will respond.
Thanks to the publisher for an ARC via NetGalley
This has a great opening and it soon became clear that there were obvious intertexts with the Mary and Percy Bysshe Shelley story, though that's not mentioned in the blurb. Here Peter Shelley is the brilliant artist, Mary Godwin, natch, the student who, in the 'now' sections set thirty years later, is a cult horror novelist whose debut was 'that creepy, lyrical novella I wrote in my early twenties... the stream of consciousness of a monstrous creature abandoned by her maker' - a clear reference to Frankenstein. The intensity of the early relationship between Shelley and Mary as students at Goldsmiths is well done with enough variation on the underlying story for it to feel creative and interesting.
But once they leave London, it feels like the well-known parameters switch in and take over this re-writing: Lord Noel Byrne (Byron), Teresa Guiccioli (Byron's later mistress, here moved back in the story to that fateful summer in Italy), Mary's stepsister Clare (Clare Clairmont) and a devilish Edward Trelawny all pile into the narrative and the creative muscle seems to slacken - it feels like both characterisation and events in the story depend overly on the story that we already know, and there isn't quite enough variation to continue to hold my interest.
In the end, this feels too wedded to the original story and, after an intriguing start, doesn't continue to forge its own trajectory for this reader. I'm interested in why the blurb avoids even suggesting that this is a retelling of the Shelley/Mary Shelley story - and how other readers will respond.
Thanks to the publisher for an ARC via NetGalley
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
High Tide is a beautifully shadowed novel, the kind that pulls you into its heat‑hazed memories and refuses to let you look away. From the moment Peter’s body washes ashore in that sweltering Tuscan summer of ’92, the story feels steeped in something both tragic and strangely magnetic—a moment frozen in time, destined to echo decades later.
Marie, now a reclusive horror writer with a cult following, is such a compelling presence. There’s a quiet intensity to her, a woman who has built an entire life on the art of looking away while her past sits just behind her shoulder, waiting. When the retrospective of Peter’s work forces her back into the light, the novel shifts into something richer and more unsettling. Old friendships resurface, old wounds stir, and Italy—sun‑bleached, secretive, humming with memory—becomes a character in its own right.
What I loved most is how the book moves between past and present with a kind of dreamy precision. The heat of that long‑ago summer, the youthful recklessness, the unspoken tensions—they all rise to the surface as Marie returns to the place where everything changed. The writing captures that feeling of being haunted not by ghosts, but by versions of ourselves we can’t quite reconcile.
As the truth begins to unspool, the story becomes a quiet, gripping exploration of art, grief, and the stories we tell to survive. It’s not just about what happened to Peter—it’s about what Marie has carried ever since, and what she’s willing to risk to protect the life she’s built.
Atmospheric, introspective, and beautifully tense, High Tide is a slow‑burn mystery wrapped in memory and heat. A haunting, elegant read that lingers long after the final page.
With thanks to Livia Franchini, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
Marie, now a reclusive horror writer with a cult following, is such a compelling presence. There’s a quiet intensity to her, a woman who has built an entire life on the art of looking away while her past sits just behind her shoulder, waiting. When the retrospective of Peter’s work forces her back into the light, the novel shifts into something richer and more unsettling. Old friendships resurface, old wounds stir, and Italy—sun‑bleached, secretive, humming with memory—becomes a character in its own right.
What I loved most is how the book moves between past and present with a kind of dreamy precision. The heat of that long‑ago summer, the youthful recklessness, the unspoken tensions—they all rise to the surface as Marie returns to the place where everything changed. The writing captures that feeling of being haunted not by ghosts, but by versions of ourselves we can’t quite reconcile.
As the truth begins to unspool, the story becomes a quiet, gripping exploration of art, grief, and the stories we tell to survive. It’s not just about what happened to Peter—it’s about what Marie has carried ever since, and what she’s willing to risk to protect the life she’s built.
Atmospheric, introspective, and beautifully tense, High Tide is a slow‑burn mystery wrapped in memory and heat. A haunting, elegant read that lingers long after the final page.
With thanks to Livia Franchini, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Livia Franchini's latest novel, High Tide, takes as it's basis the story of Mary and Percy Bysshe Shelley and reimagines it into our contemporary world. Italy, in the early 1990s, and Peter, a talented young artist, goes missing off the coast. A few days later his body his found. Decades later and Marie, a horror writer and friend of Peter, has her stability rocked by news that a retrospective of Peter's work is to open in London.
High Tide is an extremely well written, engaging novel, exploring issues of grief, the fragility of memory and the power of art to change lives. Her characterisation of Marie is beautifully done, and as a reader I fell fully involved in her story. That it is based upon Mary Shelley was soon forgotten as Livia Franchini has her own tale to tell, right through to it's wicked sting. In summary, I loved this one.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
High Tide is an extremely well written, engaging novel, exploring issues of grief, the fragility of memory and the power of art to change lives. Her characterisation of Marie is beautifully done, and as a reader I fell fully involved in her story. That it is based upon Mary Shelley was soon forgotten as Livia Franchini has her own tale to tell, right through to it's wicked sting. In summary, I loved this one.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is an atmospheric and emotionally layered novel that moves between past and present, exploring grief, memory, art and the lingering weight of tragedy. The story begins in 1992 when Peter, a talented young artist disappears off the Tuscan coast before his body is eventually discovered days later.
Decades later, his widow Marie has become a famous but deeply private horror writer, until a London exhibition of Peter’s work forces her to confront the secrets and unresolved emotions she has spent years trying to bury.
What makes the novel so compelling is the way it slowly peels back layers of memory and identity. Marie is a fascinating character. She is guarded, complicated and shaped by both love and trauma. The novel carefully explores how the past can continue to haunt the present.
Decades later, his widow Marie has become a famous but deeply private horror writer, until a London exhibition of Peter’s work forces her to confront the secrets and unresolved emotions she has spent years trying to bury.
What makes the novel so compelling is the way it slowly peels back layers of memory and identity. Marie is a fascinating character. She is guarded, complicated and shaped by both love and trauma. The novel carefully explores how the past can continue to haunt the present.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I am such a sucker for a summer set, literary fiction with an unreliable narrator and 'High Tide' gave me it all. The opening sets up the mystery as a body is washed up on a beach shore and we're quickly pulled into a modern retelling of the story of Mary and Percy Bysshe Shelley. I loved the writing style and the imagery is so vivid throughout and the unnerving relationships between Peter, Marie and their friends simmer in the Italian heat. No spoilers but I loved the way Franchini set up the end of the novel and also played with the duality of Mary/Marie throughout as that summer is unravelled. Loved this one so so much!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews