Tales from the Hamlet

Cover art © Jill Bissenden

Available on Amazon Kindle, Apple Books and Paperback

Memories of Italy – Part 1

“This is a charming book – a quirky travelogue written by a somewhat eccentric middle-aged English lady. She invites you to share her extraordinary experiences as she explores a little-known area of Italy, introducing you to stunning terrain, surprisingly welcoming people and mouth-watering food.

WARNING don’t read this book when you are hungry!”

At the age of 61, Cassandra, a single and peripatetic Brit, was asked to pack up her house and move to Italy to take up the offer of a much-needed job. 15 months later she was made redundant, leaving her unnerved, broke and unable to return home. Her dream of a new life was rapidly turning into a nightmare and saddled with all her belongings, her antique furniture, over 800 books and her aged Siamese cat she had nowhere to go.

A kind friend offered them sanctuary in a tiny converted barn in his family’s ‘Borgo’, a cluster of rustic properties grouped around a late-Medieval manor house in the mountains; the beautiful and mysterious Emilian Apennines of north Italy. There she was befriended and watched over by the owner; and eccentric octogenarian, his household ghosts and 14 semi feral cats.

The experience proved to be challenging yet deeply transformative as she struggled to recover her equilibrium and rebuild her life.

Tales from the Hamlet was featured / reviewed…

August 2022

“Recommended for all who like to experience different parts of the world from their armchair.”

Georgia recommends Hamlet, read on to know why.

Georgia Rose

August 2022

“Diving into the eclectic reservoir of relatable life stories by “regular” people is often rewarding in ways that even the best Presidential memoir can’t touch. Cassandra Campbell-Kemp’s TALES FROM THE HAMLET is a perfect example.”

Read why Tales from the Hamlet reminds Callahan that serendipity occurs most often to those who may have good reason to be afraid, but embrace life anyway.

CALLAHAN

August 2022

“Exploring the awesome beauty of the Emilian Apinnines.”

Lizanne Loyd at Rosie Amber reviews Hamlet

LIZANNE

August 2022

“There are several elements that make this book unique, Cassandra herself, Italy, the food, landscape, the historical information shared. Oh, and the characters…”

Read what Olga likes about Hamlet in her review on Goodreads

OLGA GOODREADS

August 2022

“And there are cats. Who doesn’t love everything about cats?”

Despite the love for cats, Frank, who – as part of the review team at Rosie Amber – gave Hamlet 3 stars. Find out why.

Frank at ROSIE AMBER

August 2022

“Amazing account of a courageous woman. Her accounts of the local history are fascinating and her intense interest in the stories is clear.”

Read the thoughts of “Lizanne lost in a good book” about Hamlet.

LIZANNE LOST IN A GOOD BOOK

June 2022

Book Viral (Review)

“A remarkably brave woman, and a remarkable book, written with sophisticated vocabulary, captivating candour and the most beautiful descriptive tone, which literally opens up Italy for the reader like a bloom, defying you not to feel just the beginning tingles of itchy ‘travellers’ feet. A five star read Tales from the Hamlet is unreservedly recommended!”

BOOK VIRAL

Tales from the Hamlet

Memories of Italy – Part 2

Cassandra is currently busy writing more Tales from the Hamlet – which will be published later this year.

Customer Reviews

Paul M.

30/10/2021

Tales From The Hamlet: Memories of Italy: Atmospheric and entertaining A brilliantly written and highly entertaining account of life in a hamlet in Italy and one woman's adventures. Easily on par with any of the other books in this genre and destined to be a hit.

Rock Chick Fee

16/10/2021

Cauliflowers Through The Catflap and Other Tales from a Solitary Lockdown: Could not it it down, Brilliant Read I really enjoyed the book, so funny insightful & true to what was happening during the Covid Pandemic. Laughed out loud on numerous occasions. Could not put my kindle down until I got to the end. Highly Recommended.

JL Dixon

15/10/2021

Cauliflowers Through The Catflap and Other Tales from a Solitary Lockdown: An uplifting snapshot of how the recent lockdown. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and devoured this particular cauliflower in one sitting, relaxing with a latte. It's one of the very few books I've seen about the COVID-19 lockdown, and left me thinking I could have done so much more while confined to my home. It is a truly uplifting story of family reconciliation, and seeing the funny side of lockdown.I definitely recommend this book and gave it five stars.

inarcadia

12/10/2021

Tales From The Hamlet: Memories of Italy: Absolutely beautifully written. A must read! This is an absolute gem of a book. Cassandra writes so beautifully that you can feel yourself in her shoes and sense the countryside she describes. It is very funny in parts and you feel that you personally know the characters she comes across. You also feel the various frustrations she comes across when moving abode. It is a lesson in history of this part of Italy and a fabulous distraction from current woes. Made all the better that this all really happened! I can't wait to see if there will be a follow-up. A

Dee

11/10/2021

Cauliflowers Through The Catflap and Other Tales from a Solitary Lockdown: Not just for cat lovers! This book came at a time when many of us could really do with more 'laugh out loud' moments. As an ex pat who adores the Cotswolds this book catapulted me into rural England and fed my hunger for British humour.

Amazon Customer

07/10/2021

Cauliflowers Through The Catflap and Other Tales from a Solitary Lockdown: Amazing lady, with a tremendous outlook on life!!! I had the privilege of meeting the author, as we both sat in hospital, pre cataract operations!Bearing in mind we were separated by the standard ward curtains, conversation flowed and the obvious terror of impending ops (I chickened out, Cassandra was ever stoic!!)We discussed the book, I didn't want to NOT read it!!A very inspiring lady, who has continued to be supportive throughout both our eyes needing surgery.I can't wait for the last part, whereupon I shall sit down and take this on board in greater detail.A true artist. Lockdown was merely a bump in the road for this character.ATBAlex

Esa

05/10/2021

Tales From The Hamlet: Memories of Italy: The realities and pleasures of living in Verona & the Appenines l loved this book. The author's misadventures and survival in challenging circumstances are combined with the pleasure of the delicious food of the Appenines and friendships, old and new. Stuck in the UK, reading Tales from the Hamlet was like going on an adventure with the author - sharing her downs and enjoying the felicities and new home she & Geisha the cat found. I can't wait for the next book to find out what happened next.

Alan Cobb alan cobb

02/10/2021

Cauliflowers Through The Catflap and Other Tales from a Solitary Lockdown: Lockdown Diary One personal account of the lockdown from her own perspective. It mirrored my own so it didn't offer me any more then I already knew so meant reliving the past 18 months best to forget

Emily Pankhurst

20/09/2021

Cauliflowers Through The Catflap and Other Tales from a Solitary Lockdown: An entertaining perspective on Lockdown An entertaining book based on personal experiences of lockdown. At times it really made you think how lucky you were. I enjoyed seeing what lockdown was like for someone else and that I wasn't alone in my thought processes!

Bookread2day

10/09/2021

Cauliflowers Through The Catflap and Other Tales from a Solitary Lockdown: I enjoyed reading this book Writer Cassandra had two very strange different dreams.In the first week of January her second dream was the weirdest, that astonishingly was a link to the first reported Coronavirus death in Wuhan, on the 11th January 2020.Cassandra had another presentment in October 2019 with a strong feeling that she should stockpile food that she might need in case of times of hardship.Like many of us, Cassandra bought boxes of disposable gloves, mask, hand sanitiser, but I have learned something here from Cassandra, she bought collapsible straws for drinking to use on lift buttons, and cashpoint keypads.What I thought was the most nicest thing that Cassandra did was that she lent her car to her friend who was a key worker.The one thing people struggled with was for some , not being able to go to work or use the car to go and see friends. And there was the fact that we wasn’t allowed to use the car for a fair distance to go somewhere nice for a walk.I was one of the lucky ones who had so many books and films to watch I didn’t get bored. Cassandra had plenty to keep herself occupied, but as it was a challenging time anxiety sets in.It was really nice to read about Cassandra‘s memoir during being all alone in lockdown, she is a lady with a heart of gold, and a genius making her own experience a joyful one to read about.

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