North From Rome

by Helen MacInnes

Bill Lammiter, a young American playwright, has lost his girl and is on the point of leaving Rome. Then Lammiter saves a mysterious Italian girl from a beating and the fat is in the fire.

A kidnapping, a battle in a Renaissance villa, a shrewd gamekeeper, a chance snapshot and a touring preppy contribute to the excitement and suspense of this story, and also prove a testing ground for Lammiter and his sweetheart.

Genres: Fiction, Espionage, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Italy, Mystery Thriller

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Helen MacInnes was a Scottish-American author of espionage novels. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in Scotland in 1928 with a degree in French and German. A librarian, she married Professor Gilbert Highet in 1932 and moved with her husband to New York in 1937 so he could teach classics at Columbia University. She wrote her first novel, Above Suspicion, in 1939. She wrote many bestselling suspense novels and became an American citizen in 1951.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up at a library sale recently. Having read it during a pregnancy many years ago, I wondered if it held up. Sort of, it is a diversion, a spy novel of the old sort, with charming characters, about the drug trade in the 1950's. MacInnes is a lady writer of the old school, whose idea of roughness hasn't a patch on what you read in modern novels. Honestly, some days that appeals. In my life, people really do deal with one another with a certain basic decency. Perhaps that means my life lacks gritty reality, beyond what cruches underfoot before I vacuum. Wouldn't this be a life preference for most of the world's population? A MacInness novel lacks grit, but its heroes have character and she offers as much suspense as her style allows. She does write well and is amusing in a lady-like way. Of course, given the span of time, her books read like historical fiction and are amusing in unexpected ways on that account.

As I said, a diversion and a light one.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spy novelist, Helen McInnes, is back with the re-release of her 1950s stories of espionage, communists, and the Cold War. Plots are more realistic than Bond and the travel writing is great. I'm glad to see the books back in attractive print and ebook. Typical of the author's times, the villains are the communists and male/female roles are stereotypes from the 50s. Since her husband was in the British intelligence WW II some of the antidotes may be embellishments of the real deal.
Three stars on this one because some of her others are a little more engaging though this is worth the read.

[Cphe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoy these romantic suspense/spy novels by this author. Just surprised that she is not more well known. Enjoy the settings and the descriptions of the countryside. A tad dated but I really don't care.....

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even a lesser MacInnes is still quite good. This one features a young playwright roaming around Italy chasing his ex-girl, trying to save her from a Communist drug dealer. Not quite enough action to be one of her great books, but still okay. Recommend to MacInness' fans.

[Judith Teggelaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's nice to know that people are still reading Helen MacInnes' spy thrillers. This one tells about Bill Lammiter who travels to Rome to win his ex-fiancee, Eleanor, back. While there, he becomes involved with a drug trafficing gang whose leader is Eleanor's new fiancee. Will he be able to help round up the gang and save Eleanor?

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is just no current author who writes Cold War thrillers quite like MacInnes did; I always enjoy re-reading her books.

[Melanie Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Helen MacInnes books are fun, excellent period pieces and North From Rome is no exception. Bill Lammiter is a playwrite who gets caught up in skullduggery while searching for an ex-girl friend in Rome. It's the small guy taking a stand against the forces of chaos and doing his best to cope in a situation that is beyond his realm of expertise.

Through no fault of its own though, I can't help but compare this story to another book set in Italy (Ride A Pale Horse)Ride a Pale Horse which I liked even better. But don't give this one a miss, especially not now that it is available in e.

[Greer Andjanetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helen MacInnes' stories deal with mystery, intrigue and sometimes murder, usually based in Europe. There is usually a young man who saves a young girl from danger and they end up in love.
This story follows the formula and is set in Italy. Quite readable and entertaining.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Held up wonderfully - I think I actually enjoyed it more than when I first read it! MacInnes still holds the attention, and there is a certain timelessness to her books.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I had read North From Rome before, back in High School, but I didn't remember anything of the plot or the characters. I may have only borrowed it from the library, but I doubt I read it.

Bill Lammiter, a Playwright, has followed his girlfriend to Rome, in the end breaking up with her. He has decided to leave Rome, when he hears a woman screaming outside his hotel window. He suddenly is involved in an international situation that he didn't bargain for.

[Janette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't as exciting or suspenseful as her earlier books.

[truenorth · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy, interesting read. Almost four stars

[Sarah Seele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lammiter, a fictional male from the 1950s: Why, yes, I do think about the Roman Empire on a daily basis—

To be fair, the book is set in Italy, and themes of civilizational decline, and whatnot. I just happened to read this at the perfect time to be amused.

Not quite…as gritty as a lot of her other books? Or gripping? But there are lots of twists and turns, and I liked the characters. Rarely does reading some Helen MacInnes not make my day better.

[Ron Wroblewski · Rating 3 out of 5]

an ok novel. about communist spy's plotting (no idea what) in Italy, discovered by chance by a visiting American.
I think that Bill chose the wrong woman. will let you decide for yourself.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my third Helen MacInnes, and while I haven't enjoyed one as much as I did the first one, I'll keep reading her. I like stepping back into the mindsets of the 40s and 50s, seeing how people thought and felt and what life was like in different places. I think MacInnes makes these observations well. I read this on the way to Rome, made me understand the places and the setting all the more, which I love.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

American playwright gets sucked into a nefarious plot by Italian communists to flood the west with drugs. Has a certain 1950s retro flair I suppose but little else to recommend it.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic spy thrillers like HELEN MACINNES novels are a long-time favorite of mine. I take the time and effort to find these older books and savor them.

The comment above is from a few years ago, and I just read the book again for the third time. (At least.) I think that says a lot.
Even though I have a lengthy TBR list of new books that I am working on, it gives me great pleasure to read and reread books by such stellar writers as Helen MacInnes.

[Melody Klink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good, old fashioned spy novel.

[Sarah Rickman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Helen MacInnes spy thriller hit!

Big fan of Helen MacInnes. Re-reading some of her books and this one sure keeps you guessing. A very good read!

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of my least favorite Helen MacInnes books. I re-read it recently because I couldn't remember what this one was about, and now I know why I didn't remember.

MacInnes' books reflect the times that she wrote. In the 1940s the villains were Nazis. In the 1950s the bad guys were Communists. In the 1970s, the Communists were still there but terrorists began to be the main villains.

This is clearly a Cold War novel. The bad guy is a Communist running a drug ring. The good guy, Bill Lammiter, is an American who just happens to be in the right place at the right time (he saves a young woman from being dragged into a car). He's in Italy following his ex-girlfriend who became engaged to an Italian after breaking up with Lammiter.

I got really fed up with the stereotypes and never really identified with any of the characters.

(My paperback copy doesn't have an ISBN or a publication date (other than copyright 1958 so I guessed on which edition to shelve. It's Fawcett Crest Book T940.)

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second in my trio of suspense reads by Helen MacInnes. American playwright, Bill Lammiter gets caught up in spying operations involving a narcotics ring in Rome mid 1950's. It's summer, he's broken up with his fiancee and met some new people by accident, whether friend or foe and how they figure in Eleanor's new life (she's now engaged to a dashing Italian whose aunt is a Princess with connections).
The pace is on track, Rome in summer is lovely but even better is the north countryside where Bill and Joe end up on the run to stop a meeting that will set in motion all kinds of drugs headed for America. Scenic yet menacing, pastoral yet full of peril for Bill, Joe, the others behind the scenes and Eleanor, Rosana and the folks in Perugia, the meeting place. Snappy dialogue all support the era, clever characters who act and think quickly, strong female leads, plots that are ahead of their times. Well done, most entertaining, and during a pandemic, an ideal way to travel safely from your armchair.

[Diane Rapport · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Helen MacInnes books many years ago. When this one popped up at a great price for kindle, I decided it was time to get reacquainted. I enjoyed the read, finding it a good change of pace from today’s gritty thrillers. Ms MacInnes excelled at setting a scene. Her descriptions of places and people are vivid and make you feel as if you were there. The plot itself is interesting, and full of twists and turns. The one thing I had difficulty with was the very mid-century treatment of female characters. They were beautiful, but they were meant to be shielded and protected by the men around them. Yes they were intelligent, but Ms MacInnes was adept at showing that intelligence in ways that were quiet and never over-shadowing that of the male characters. As one reviewer said, Ms MacInnes is always polite! While this isn’t my favorite of her books - my old copies of Decision at Delphi and The Salzburg Connection were worn out - it was still a nice detour from my usual reads.

[Bill Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read several Helen MacInnes books early in my life. She was indeed the queen of the spy novels. This one held up just fine as well. Her descriptive passages are vivid, give you a sense of being there, and describe beautiful places in Italy, whee the story takes place.

The characters are well defined, the story has twists, and even when it seems to have reached climax and denouement it has a little something extra to unravel.

Her books pull you along and take you somewhere, and at least a couple were turned into movies. I believe she died in 1985. I was pleased to find this one and make my way through it. I'm sure it's not the best of her works, which were more likely Above Suspicion and/or The Venetian Affair. But you are in the hands of a gifted storyteller.

[Laura Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few parts were excellent, and I could see it playing in my mind like a stylish '50s suspense movie à la To Catch a Thief. But it felt like a strangely paced first draft in other places. Too much of the plot relied on people standing around and giving lengthy (often repetitive or unnecessary) explanations.

[Jodi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know why I bothered to read the whole book. So I could use it for my reading challenge I suppose. But really, the thing lumbered along tediously for pages and pages. I've read two decent MacInnes books and I guess I keep hoping to find another, but no dice.

[Kathy]

started 5/27/14

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found it dated, and the prose annoying. Not a keeper

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read 50 pages only, too much else to read.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

It as much action as some of hers but still a good read

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicely put together. Helen MacInnes gathers all her strongest attributes and makes this novel published in 1958 one of her better works. It doesn't have the grand scale of her wartime espionage books, but it is just as gripping. Right from the outset, she knows how to write a "grabber." And so it goes: Bill Lammiter, newly successful playwright living in Rome, follows up on the fate of his estranged girlfriend, Eleanor, and finds her now engaged to an Italian nobleman. The nobleman, however, is engaged in an international drug cartel backed by Communist agents. Alas, Luigi and his family, having blundered in supporting Mussolini are now equally taking the wrong side of Soviet destabilization of the West.

The story itself seems tame in this day and age, but the movement of the characters within the tale is what makes the difference. MacInnes imparts drama, intrigue, betrayal, and revenge in a Cold War context that is really quite good. Moving Bill out of Rome to, first Montesecco, then Perugia layers in an unmatched level of exoticism. For, of course, MacInnes is second to none at creating atmosphere. As is the usual case with her work, you can feel heat in the piazzas, catch the cool waft of a breeze at sunset, get lost in serpentine back streets, and enjoy the open fields guarded by olive trees and deeper woods. It takes a master to do this without descending into purple prose, and MacInnes is that sort of master.

She also continues her story device of landing foreigners (usually Americans and British) into foreign locales that are not friendly towards them. Whether in Brittany following the Dunkirk evacuation, the southern Tirol, Bavaria on the cusp or war, or Warsaw and Poland during the German invasion, one of her recurring techniques is to isolate the foreigner into a room or apartment, where he fears being unmasked. It happens in North from Rome, too, in Montesecco, albeit only briefly. MacInnes has learned, I think, not to linger too long in these passages. While they do give the characters time to stew, recapitulate the plot for the reader, and set up exterior threats, they have taken too long in doing so in the past. With Rome, she gets it just right. This story never loses its pace or sense of adventure.