Will Gnà Peppina give her customers what they need, even if it’s more than food?

What pleasures can a man indulge in after his wife has put him on a draconian diet?

Who will be able to cook dinner for the family with five euros?

Five humorous short stories ablaze with the Sicilian sunshine, vibrating with the singsongs of the street sellers, fragrant with the scent of the sea.

Written by Stefania Hartley, The Sicilian Mama.

"Full of atmosphere, fun and warmth. It’s an absolutely charming read." (Shirley Blair, senior editor of The People’s Friend magazine, on the short story "Cooking with Franca")

“I don’t just give them food […] I give them what they need!”

So says Gnà Peppina in Stefania Hartley’s utterly delightful short story collection, Fresh from the Sea and Other Short Stories. The unifying theme is food, but Italian family life is at the heart of this collection and what a vibrant depiction of family life it is! In “Five Euro Challenge”, a husband and wife compete to buy the ingredients for a family meal for under five euros, while in “Gnà Peppina”, the story of widow Gnà Peppina is cleverly served over five courses with an extra sweet ending. In “Forbidden Pleasures” Marta suspects that giving up sugar has led her husband into other, more worrying temptations....

There is a freshness and candour about Hartley’s writing. Her tongue is as sharp as a Sabatier knife but there’s always a twinkle in her eye. The imagery is deft and evocative, whether we’re encountering “belligerent lobsters” at the fish market, or Amanda the bimbo with her red Ferrari lips at Carla and Massimo’s party. Hartley’s characters come alive from the very first line and hold your attention right to the end.

"Hartley doesn’t just give us stories, she gives us a slice of Italian life served with lashings of charm and wit. Highly recommended!" (Ella Hayes, author of Her Brooding Scottish Heir)

"In these short stories Stefania Hartley skewers universal foibles with humor. With sharp and at the same time gentle irony she invites us to laugh not only at the characters but, with them, at ourselves. The sunny quality of the tales owes as much to their Sicilian setting as to a warm perspective on human beings." (Valeria Vescina, author of That Summer in Puglia)