Midnight in Sicily

Peter Robb is an Australian author. He was born in the Toorak, Melbourne in 1946 and has lived in Australia, New Zealand, Italy and Brazil. His first book, Midnight in Sicily, won the Victorian Premier's Literary Prize for non-fiction in 1997.His second book, M, a biography of the Italian artist Caravaggio, provoked controversy on its publication in Britain in 2000. A Death in Brazil, his fourth novel, was named The Age's non-fiction book of the year for 2004. He has taught at the University of Melbourne, the University of Oulu in Finland and the Instituto Universitario Orientale in Naples.

"One of the greatest charms of Robb's book is his evident delight in southern Italy, particularly its food, which is recorded with such intensity of memory that one can almost taste it... As an introduction to post-war Italy, to the country as well as its politics, it can have few equals" -- Caroline Moorehead Times Literary Supplement "Robb writes brilliantly about the cycle of violence in southern Italy. This unclassifiable book melds politics, the mafia, travel, autobiography and serious cooking" -- Andrew Taylor Independent "I love this book. It left me in a sweet and sour mood of exultation, grief, despair and hope which lasted for many days" -- Peter Goldsworthy Australian Review of Books "One of the finest books on the Italian south. [Peter Robb's] analysis is as riveting in its commentary on modern Sicilian life as The Leopard was to an earlier generation" The Economist "Peter Robb manages to celebrate the literature, art, manners and food of an entire region. His book is a masterpiece of elegant, sceptical enquiry and a pleasure to read" -- Ian Thomson Evening Standard