The Fire in the Mountain
- Author Helena Attlee
- Narrator Helena Attlee
- Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
- Publish Date 16 April 2026
- Run Time 9 hours and 47 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Cookery / food and drink, European history, Nature and the natural world: general interest, Places and peoples: general and pictorial works, Travel writing.
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What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
For centuries, Mount Etna has sent lava to engulf the towns and villages, terraced fields, orchards, vineyards, and citrus groves that nestle across its slopes. But still it remains home to a quarter of Sicily’s population. Why? Because Etna has always rewarded her people after every eruption with a landscape of unparalleled fertility, richness and drama.
In this extraordinary new book, Helena Attlee combines travel writing with history, mythology, geology, gastronomy and horticulture to tell a unique story of life in the shadow of Sicily’s most dangerous and alluring landmark. Venturing through lava-strewn fields and pistachio groves patrolled by armed guards; past dusky, basalt-built farmyards, and caves once used to store snow, Attlee gathers tales of the artists, writers, farmers, and scientists who have for centuries been drawn to this unpredictable landscape: from the early Roman, Arabic and Norman settlers, Romantic poets and Victorian geologists, to the local families who live and work there today. It is at once a compelling account of Sicily’s rich and varied past, and a powerful meditation on humanity’s ever-changing relationship with landscape.
© Helena Attlee 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
| Author | Helena Attlee |
|---|---|
| Narrator | Helena Attlee |
| Duration | 9 hours and 47 minutes |
| Release Date | |
| ISBN | 9781837313693 |
| Format | Audiobook |
| Publisher | Penguin Books Ltd |
| Genre | Cookery / food and drink, European history, Nature and the natural world: general interest, Places and peoples: general and pictorial works, Travel writing |
| Availability | AU, GB, IE |
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