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So Wild the Heart
Thomas Adam, junior Fellow of St. Columb’s College at Oxford University, is one of countless English travellers crossing the channel to explore the reopened Continent after the Napoleonic wars.
With Boney imprisoned, there is no time like the present to experience French wine and the Italian countryside — at least, for anyone other than Adam, whose motives are severely academic…
Bound for Italy on the strictest academic pursuit, he has no intention of partaking in the glories of the countries he moves through, much less become involved in any way with the people he encounters.
Indeed, anything not directly related to completing his translation of the obscure late poet Antonian, Adam views as entirely irrelevant.
Romance, certainly, is entirely excluded.
Life, however, has a much different summer in store for Adam than the one he has planned.
Once settled in the beautiful lakeside town of Lucero, a location he hopes houses the mysterious Isola d’Amore referred to in Antonian’s works, Adam discovers any number of temptations.
His encounters with ‘enlightened’ American women and a foolish prophet of Reason seem always to draw him away from his work…but unbeknownst to Adam, the answers he seeks are right under his nose the whole summer.
Yet by the end of the Long Vacation, it is not his translation that occupies his thoughts, but rather problems of love.
Problems for which all his classical scholarship has not prepared him…
So Wild the Heart is an engaging literary tale that gets to the heart of human emotion.
Praise for Geoffrey Trease
“Geoffrey Trease has certainly got the knack. He can write for young people, in this case mainly for teenagers, without being obvious. The excitement is there where fact permits. So is the lucidity, with events all round the world fitting smoothly into their proper place and time” - The Daily Telegraph
“I found it a fascinating book. I wish that all history books were so inviting and intelligent.” - Naomi Lewes, BBC
“History at its most agreeable and readable.” - Time and Tide
Geoffrey Trease(1909-1998) was the author of more than one hundred books, including children’s books. He revolutionised children’s literature and was one of the first authors to deliberately appeal to both boys and girls through strong leading characters of both genders. In 1966 Trease won the New York Herald Tribune Book Award for This is Your Century.Geoffrey Trease was educated at Oxford University and travelled widely in Europe and beyond. He lived in Herefordshire on the slopes of the Malvern Hills.
With Boney imprisoned, there is no time like the present to experience French wine and the Italian countryside — at least, for anyone other than Adam, whose motives are severely academic…
Bound for Italy on the strictest academic pursuit, he has no intention of partaking in the glories of the countries he moves through, much less become involved in any way with the people he encounters.
Indeed, anything not directly related to completing his translation of the obscure late poet Antonian, Adam views as entirely irrelevant.
Romance, certainly, is entirely excluded.
Life, however, has a much different summer in store for Adam than the one he has planned.
Once settled in the beautiful lakeside town of Lucero, a location he hopes houses the mysterious Isola d’Amore referred to in Antonian’s works, Adam discovers any number of temptations.
His encounters with ‘enlightened’ American women and a foolish prophet of Reason seem always to draw him away from his work…but unbeknownst to Adam, the answers he seeks are right under his nose the whole summer.
Yet by the end of the Long Vacation, it is not his translation that occupies his thoughts, but rather problems of love.
Problems for which all his classical scholarship has not prepared him…
So Wild the Heart is an engaging literary tale that gets to the heart of human emotion.
Praise for Geoffrey Trease
“Geoffrey Trease has certainly got the knack. He can write for young people, in this case mainly for teenagers, without being obvious. The excitement is there where fact permits. So is the lucidity, with events all round the world fitting smoothly into their proper place and time” - The Daily Telegraph
“I found it a fascinating book. I wish that all history books were so inviting and intelligent.” - Naomi Lewes, BBC
“History at its most agreeable and readable.” - Time and Tide
Geoffrey Trease(1909-1998) was the author of more than one hundred books, including children’s books. He revolutionised children’s literature and was one of the first authors to deliberately appeal to both boys and girls through strong leading characters of both genders. In 1966 Trease won the New York Herald Tribune Book Award for This is Your Century.Geoffrey Trease was educated at Oxford University and travelled widely in Europe and beyond. He lived in Herefordshire on the slopes of the Malvern Hills.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1959
53 people want to read
About the author
Geoffrey Trease
173 books25 followersRobert Geoffrey Trease (1909-1998) was a prolific writer, publishing 113 books between 1934 (Bows Against the Barons) and 1997 (Cloak for a Spy). His work has been translated into 20 languages. His grandfather was a historian, and was one of the main influences towards Trease's work.
He is best known for writing children's historical novels, whose content reflects his insistence on historically correct backgrounds, which he meticulously researched. However, with his ground-breaking study Tales Out of School (1949), he was also a pioneer of the idea that children's literature should be a serious subject for study and debate. When he began his career, his radical viewpoint was a change from the conventional and often jingoistic tone of most children's literature of the time, and he was one of the first authors who deliberately set out to appeal to both boys and girls and to feature strong leading characters of both sexes.
He is best known for writing children's historical novels, whose content reflects his insistence on historically correct backgrounds, which he meticulously researched. However, with his ground-breaking study Tales Out of School (1949), he was also a pioneer of the idea that children's literature should be a serious subject for study and debate. When he began his career, his radical viewpoint was a change from the conventional and often jingoistic tone of most children's literature of the time, and he was one of the first authors who deliberately set out to appeal to both boys and girls and to feature strong leading characters of both sexes.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 23, 2017
Thomas Adams is a student at the University of Oxford but under the patronage Mr.Challand. Adams is an orphan without many options for success in life and has dedicated himself to his academics. When an opportunity to travel to France and Italy to research the poet Antonian who he wants to write a book about. While in Italy at a lakeside town where Antonian may have lived and written his poetry, Adams meets Mortimer a philosopher who hasn't published in decades, resting on the laurels of his old work that was originally influential. Adam goes to live with him and his acquaintances before things take a sour turn and he quarrels and leaves from there. While there he meets two american women, one of whom, Sally he falls in love with. Unfortunately Mr.Challand has three unwed daughters and marriage is not allowed for scholars at Oxford.
Personally not a fan of older literature though this was better than most, I just have a hard time empathizing with characters. I don't get how Adams and Sally fell in love honestly and I find a lot of the love stories in older literature hard to believe because it just seems to magically come out of thin air. For a while there Sally really didn't seem like she was into it at all. It might just be me thought. It's good if you like those kind of books, like Jane Austen but I personally don't get very into them so.
Personally not a fan of older literature though this was better than most, I just have a hard time empathizing with characters. I don't get how Adams and Sally fell in love honestly and I find a lot of the love stories in older literature hard to believe because it just seems to magically come out of thin air. For a while there Sally really didn't seem like she was into it at all. It might just be me thought. It's good if you like those kind of books, like Jane Austen but I personally don't get very into them so.
June 16, 2017
This beautifully vivid tale of adventure and romance in Italy during the early 19th century has confirmed that I need a vacation - and a sunny villa - of my own somewhere around what used to be Lombardy-Venetia. The setting and descriptions in this book are simply sublime; you can feel the warmth of the sun, hear the gentle rustling of the water, see the Roman ruins, taste the delicious fruits, all in the most beautiful and peaceful of settings. This is the sort of book that will make you travel far, very far, to sun-kissed lands where all is romance and adventure.
Perhaps I feel this way because I haven't read many books set in Italy and the new setting made it more exciting for me, but regardless of that the fact remains that So Wild the Heart was a captivating story and a joy to read under the sun (of my own backyard and not an Italian villa, sadly).
It moved very slowly at first; there is a lot of exposition to introduce us to the main character, Mr. Adam, who proved to be a very unusual albeit interesting (and quite loveable) sort of hero. An Oxford Fellow with a classical bent, Adam has devoted his life to the study of classic literature, and is in the middle of translating a work by the Roman poet Antonian. His good friend George Seabrook persuades him to travel to Italy to immerse himself in Antonian's country and find the mysterious villa on an island referred to in the poem, which no one seems to know where to find. Seabrook knows, of course, that a good vacation out of Oxford and England will do his friend a lot of good.
So the book moves about very quietly at first, but it is still highly enjoyable, and full of interesting historical details. From England we are briefly transported to Paris, and then we finally arrive in Italy, where Adam hopes to begin his search for Antonian's villa at once. Admittedly some of the twists were quite predictable, but others not so much and the second half of the book definitely held my interest throughout and I found it quite hard to put down.
If the romantic setting of this novel is one of my favourite aspects, something must also be said of the wonderful character development. To be sure, some of the characters were highly annoying, and I was quite glad some were never seen again after a certain time. I definitely did not care for the Mortimers and their philosophy of Reason, however much I appreciated the overall philosophical (or satire of) tones of this book. But our hero Mr. Adam made excellent progress over the course of the story. At the beginning we were introduced to a shy, extremely introverted man with his nose forever in a book, awkward in social situations and hopeless with women. And by the end...we have a wonderful man with a newly acquired appreciation for the ironic and the ridiculous, who has managed to stay true to himself while winning the lady of his dreams, and who is now considerably less straitlaced and serious. ;)
The romance was slightly unbelievable and quite under-developed, but as the book was overall more a work of general fiction than pure romance, it didn't really bother me and I still greatly enjoyed it. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for an adventurous yet relaxing book to read, filled with gorgeous descriptions and historical detail.
I would like to thank The Odyssey Press for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. I greatly enjoyed it, and all opinions expressed were my own. Thank you!
Perhaps I feel this way because I haven't read many books set in Italy and the new setting made it more exciting for me, but regardless of that the fact remains that So Wild the Heart was a captivating story and a joy to read under the sun (of my own backyard and not an Italian villa, sadly).
It moved very slowly at first; there is a lot of exposition to introduce us to the main character, Mr. Adam, who proved to be a very unusual albeit interesting (and quite loveable) sort of hero. An Oxford Fellow with a classical bent, Adam has devoted his life to the study of classic literature, and is in the middle of translating a work by the Roman poet Antonian. His good friend George Seabrook persuades him to travel to Italy to immerse himself in Antonian's country and find the mysterious villa on an island referred to in the poem, which no one seems to know where to find. Seabrook knows, of course, that a good vacation out of Oxford and England will do his friend a lot of good.
So the book moves about very quietly at first, but it is still highly enjoyable, and full of interesting historical details. From England we are briefly transported to Paris, and then we finally arrive in Italy, where Adam hopes to begin his search for Antonian's villa at once. Admittedly some of the twists were quite predictable, but others not so much and the second half of the book definitely held my interest throughout and I found it quite hard to put down.
If the romantic setting of this novel is one of my favourite aspects, something must also be said of the wonderful character development. To be sure, some of the characters were highly annoying, and I was quite glad some were never seen again after a certain time. I definitely did not care for the Mortimers and their philosophy of Reason, however much I appreciated the overall philosophical (or satire of) tones of this book. But our hero Mr. Adam made excellent progress over the course of the story. At the beginning we were introduced to a shy, extremely introverted man with his nose forever in a book, awkward in social situations and hopeless with women. And by the end...we have a wonderful man with a newly acquired appreciation for the ironic and the ridiculous, who has managed to stay true to himself while winning the lady of his dreams, and who is now considerably less straitlaced and serious. ;)
The romance was slightly unbelievable and quite under-developed, but as the book was overall more a work of general fiction than pure romance, it didn't really bother me and I still greatly enjoyed it. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for an adventurous yet relaxing book to read, filled with gorgeous descriptions and historical detail.
I would like to thank The Odyssey Press for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. I greatly enjoyed it, and all opinions expressed were my own. Thank you!
August 4, 2017
A historical romance with elements of the modern rom com, I was given a copy of the book in return for an unbiased review.
The hero takes a trip to Italy, to further his research for a translation of an obscure Roman poet, where he meets the radical and excitable Matthew Mortimer and his unconventional household, and falls in love with once of Mortimer's guests, a modern, young American women.
For most of the book, his feelings towards Sally are very much of the “crush from afar” variety. Like any good historical romance it also has a bounder trying to seduce the object of his affections, and Adam’s exile from her presence when he upsets his hosts by coming to blows with the bounder to protect her honour. However, in proper rom com style, the main characters finally realise how they feel towards each other, leading to the 1816 equivalent of rushing to the airport to stop her flying away. Needless to say, in the end he realises there’s more to life than an obscure Roman poet, leading to a satisfying happy ending.
It isn’t the fastest moving book in the world. However, the descriptions of summer in Italy are excellent, and it has touches of humour which lighten the whole. The idyllic Italian lakeside setting also gives it the holiday romance/beach read vibe.
All in all, it’s a decent summer read for those who like historical romances of the more genteel sort.
The hero takes a trip to Italy, to further his research for a translation of an obscure Roman poet, where he meets the radical and excitable Matthew Mortimer and his unconventional household, and falls in love with once of Mortimer's guests, a modern, young American women.
For most of the book, his feelings towards Sally are very much of the “crush from afar” variety. Like any good historical romance it also has a bounder trying to seduce the object of his affections, and Adam’s exile from her presence when he upsets his hosts by coming to blows with the bounder to protect her honour. However, in proper rom com style, the main characters finally realise how they feel towards each other, leading to the 1816 equivalent of rushing to the airport to stop her flying away. Needless to say, in the end he realises there’s more to life than an obscure Roman poet, leading to a satisfying happy ending.
It isn’t the fastest moving book in the world. However, the descriptions of summer in Italy are excellent, and it has touches of humour which lighten the whole. The idyllic Italian lakeside setting also gives it the holiday romance/beach read vibe.
All in all, it’s a decent summer read for those who like historical romances of the more genteel sort.
June 21, 2017
Geoffrey Trease wrote well over one hundred novels in his life, but only four for adults. This is one of them. I believe this is the sort of novel which could no longer be written by almost any living author. It focuses on a world long gone and in a wry, witty and erudite narrative perfectly captures the atmosphere of Oxford, England, Paris and Italy in the 1820s shortly following the final defeat of Napoleon.
Adam, a young man from an impoverished background, is taken under the wing of a country parson, educated, and wins a place at Oxford. He devotes himself to study – what else can he do? As a junior fellow of his college, he researches the poetry of a minor Latin poet called Antonian, a sort of third rate Catullus or Ovid. In the long vacation he progresses to the Italian lakes in a bid to identify Antonian’s birthplace. There he meets with rather more of real life than he had hitherto experienced: a pompous and vain English philosopher, a third-rate Byron who plans on seduction, two liberated young American women, a flirtatious Italian chamber-maid – and the discovery of romance. The dry, scholarly Adam matures into a man of passion and of action.
I loved this novel. It is light, but intelligent, funny and knowledgeable, atmospheric and humane. The characters are deftly drawn. Adam is no innocent abroad, but kind and lacking in opportunity. The ending is all that could be hoped for. All praise to Odyssey Publishing for making it available once again to a new audience of readers.
Adam, a young man from an impoverished background, is taken under the wing of a country parson, educated, and wins a place at Oxford. He devotes himself to study – what else can he do? As a junior fellow of his college, he researches the poetry of a minor Latin poet called Antonian, a sort of third rate Catullus or Ovid. In the long vacation he progresses to the Italian lakes in a bid to identify Antonian’s birthplace. There he meets with rather more of real life than he had hitherto experienced: a pompous and vain English philosopher, a third-rate Byron who plans on seduction, two liberated young American women, a flirtatious Italian chamber-maid – and the discovery of romance. The dry, scholarly Adam matures into a man of passion and of action.
I loved this novel. It is light, but intelligent, funny and knowledgeable, atmospheric and humane. The characters are deftly drawn. Adam is no innocent abroad, but kind and lacking in opportunity. The ending is all that could be hoped for. All praise to Odyssey Publishing for making it available once again to a new audience of readers.
June 2, 2017
I love a good story with a hero so beta he's way over into gamma, delta and epsilon territory. Adam is a young man from a poor background with a bright mind, who's focused on achieving success at Oxford. He's obsessed with creating the definitive translation and history of an obscure Roman poet...who may be obscure for a good reason.
He's finally pulled away from his studies for a summer trip where he can do some research in Italy, and suddenly his life begins to get interesting.
A sweet and gentle romance is wrapped around this coming of age story set in the Regency period. I didn't label it a romance, but it's been recommended to me by other romance authors and it will satisfy people looking for that romantic element that makes us smile while we're reading.
He's finally pulled away from his studies for a summer trip where he can do some research in Italy, and suddenly his life begins to get interesting.
A sweet and gentle romance is wrapped around this coming of age story set in the Regency period. I didn't label it a romance, but it's been recommended to me by other romance authors and it will satisfy people looking for that romantic element that makes us smile while we're reading.
August 22, 2017
Thoroughly enjoyable romp.
September 6, 2017
The writing is wonderful!
March 15, 2026
It was okay, I probably won’t reread it.
Want to read
May 24, 2017Sounds intriguing...
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews