As I outline in my introduction, The Bicycle Thief and the German Wife (TBT for short), is in essence a tapestry of many very human stories. It seeks to give a vivid sense of what life had been like – not just for the two central figures of Bruno and Babi – but for countless other Italians from all sides swept up in the maelstrom of the Second World War. It also considers some of the consequences which lingered on in the lives of Italian families for many decades afterwards.

Every author writes to be read. But in the case of TBT the readers I especially had in mind were younger people, those born at least a half century after 1945.

It is therefore a great pleasure to continue my relationship with Ms. Valentina Foschi, the teaching staff and the students of the Liceo Nolfi Apolloni in Fano, Italy. In recent years, Valentina has invited me as key speaker to a number of seminars for teachers, educational professionals and students in this beautiful town in the northern Marche region.

I will now be working in collaboration with many students in Liceo Nolfi on a translation project of TBT. I look forward to their response as young people to the story and to learning from them, Valentina and her highly professional colleagues.