Review of 'The Secret Diary of Rome' by M A McLaughlin

Review of 'The Secret Diary of Rome' by M A McLaughlin

Release date: September 1st, 2026

Publisher: Joffe Books

REVIEW

Review coming soon!

What the book is about:

A hidden diary. A story that’s waited a hundred years to be told . . .
Italy, 1960
Emilia Rinaldi arrives in Rome to claim an inheritance from a grandmother she never met.
All she knows is that the mysterious terms of the will require her presence in the city. And that a torn page from a diary, found in her late mother’s music box, appears to come from the lost diary of Lizzie Siddal, the tragic pre-Raphaelite muse, and wife of Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
But the inheritance is not what it seems. The villa on the Via Margutta is hers. So is a small, water-damaged book her grandmother kept hidden for fifty years — Lizzie’s diary.
Emilia restores rare books for a living. As she lifts Lizzie's words from the damaged pages, she discovers a secret her family has buried for generations. The story of two priceless paintings that once hung in the villa. One genuine. One a flawless forgery.
A century apart, the two stories are bound together. And someone in Rome would rather Emilia never untangled them.
When she finally uncovers the truth, she must decide whether some secrets are meant to be preserved . . . or buried forever.

REVIEW

I am sitting here motionless and spellbound. This novel deeply inspired and shifted so many emotions in my heart. The Secret Diary of Rome by M. A. McLaughlin is a literary masterpiece: a kind of story that ushers in all the good memories of what we love about English Literature. It captured my attention from the first atmospheric page and held me through to its victorious end. The subject matter is also of great interest, artistically written and poetically perfect.

We all know about the Pre-Raphaelites and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. And we have heard about and seen in art his muse and wife Elizabeth Siddal. This novel gives her a powerful voice and presence. We feel her strength, turmoils and see her talent. Caught in a time when women were not acknowledged, we get a clear and sympathetic picture of her life, losses, art, poetry and struggles. I have always found her fascinating and read other fictional stories such as Kate Forsyth’s brilliant Beauty in Thorns that will stay with me forever. Ms McLaughlin’s delivery is equally profound. It opened my mind to explore other areas. This dual timeline connects the past and present through two mysteries. We move effortlessly back and forth from the 1960s to the 1860s. The thread that is spun through generations is done through Lizzie’s diary entries, making her come to life. Emilia is the instrument who solves the missing pieces of a very complex puzzle that involves a number of families. There are a few suspicious deaths, injured persons and a number of possible suspects behind these events. Whether you will expect the outcome is hard to say but there are some clever surprising twists and turns to keep you guessing.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti buried a book of his poetry, his ‘soul’s song of devotion’ with Lizzie his wife when she passed away. Later her grave was exhumed to retrieve the book that he thought would ‘revive his flailing career.’ The Prelude opens in 1869 with an ominous speaker (whose name is revealed on second page as being Mr. Hover). His actions and dialogue let us know he is cunning and ruthless in how he ‘recognises every man’s weakness and then subtly exploits it for (his) own ends.’ He describes Dante and his two companions as gullible, having easily persuaded them to help exhume her grave. He is driven by a secret motive: retrieving a valuable item buried with Lizzie that she had secretly harboured.

This Prologue sets up an intriguing mystery that pulls the reader in with its poetic language, historical references and an uncanny persuasive character that sparks curiosity. The narrative brilliantly evokes the suspense surrounding the opening of her coffin, rendering the wonder of her final appearance with exceptional skill. Is she still the eternally beautiful Blessed Damozel—even in death? Will she appear as a sleeping beauty with her former delicate features preserved? There is a comment about her long ‘magnificent coppery tresses’ that inspired so many young artists. And the fine detail of a remnant of a tear on her face certainly is haunting. But soon our attention is pulled away to the motive of the speaker—his plan to retrieve what he desires. I shuddered at his coveting comment: ‘At last, it is mine.’ I could feel the sting of the serpent and see the art of his deception.

In Chapter One we meet Emilia Rinaldi on New Year’s eve 1959 at her engagement party. She has come through a rough time after losing her mother in a car accident. After that tragic event, she lost all joy. Even her passion for restoring damaged books has dulled. She is left with many unanswered questions about her mother and grandmother’s relationship. A feud occurred, but she does not know why. Was it a result of her birth for her mother raised her alone? But after meeting the man who becomes her fiancé, she gets back on her feet with his help. Then on the night of her engagement party (New Year’s eve) she gets a phone call that her grandmother Theresa passed away a few days earlier and left her a sizable inheritance. She must fly to Rome at once to claim her inheritance, or forfeit it entirely. The sudden windfall is staggering, coming from a grandmother she never knew.

An old memory steers Emilia toward her mother’s antique music box. Inside, she discovers a photograph of her mother radiant with pregnancy, tucked beside a torn out diary page bearing the name Lizzie Siddal. She is stunned and needs to know how her mother acquired it. Where is the rest of the diary and what is her mother’s connection to Lizzie?

Her fiancé is unhappy about her decision to take the trip because his parents are flying in from England to New York to meet her. But driven by curiosity, Emilia flies to Rome to settle her inheritance, only to uncover a reality she never could have anticipated. When an even deeper-seated mystery surfaces, she realizes she must solve it to find peace. It is her only chance to truly understand her mother, unearth her grandmother's past, the link to Lizzie and claim the family she never knew.

While in Rome to claim her inheritance that includes a villa, a rare book collection and much to her surprise, Lizzie’s diary, she receives a letter from her grandmother that is quite a heart melting experience. It answers some of Emilia’s concerns but it also sets her on a journey that throws up more questions than answers. During the process we learn of forged paintings of Dante Gabriel’s work which opens another can of worms! But Emilia is determined to get to the bottom of these mysteries.

In the meantime, it is both an exciting and nail biting quest where danger, betrayal, feuds and red herrings litter the pages and pathways of Emilia. She meets many intriguing people who will offer clues and direction. But will they lead her to or away from the truth? And who can she trust? It becomes hard to tell who is her friend or enemy. Was her grandfather’s death an accident? And what about Lizzie’s? Suspicions run high the closer we come to the end. Powerful seeds of doubt are carefully planted, increasing the tension continually. As we follow the search with Emilia, Lizzie’s diary becomes a tool of great purpose—cutting through lies like a sword and drawing out the enemies in the shadows.

The novel features exceptional character development, most notably in Emilia’s transformation from a people-pleasing 'yes woman' into a self-assured protagonist who claims her independence and lives on her own terms. Emilia has found a new freedom to make choices in love and location. Any weakness she had after her mother’s death has dissipated, for now she sees things as they are and has the courage to step into the light with strength and conviction. The parallels in her life and Lizzie’s are plenty. As the skein of lies and deception unravel around them, these two women shine even brighter against the dark deeds of those who plot and scheme destruction. 

I adored The Secret Diary of Rome. The prose is so exquisite it swept my imagination to new heights of wonder. Ms McLaughlin has woven well researched aspects of the Rossetti family into her fiction with such power and precision the story sings with literary beauty. I truly felt I got to know Lizzie and Dante Gabriel, through a number of great literary devices such as: at the start of each chapter quotes are used from their works to add another layer of depth and understanding. Plus through the testimonies of the older characters, and use of the diary, we are swept back to the past. And we are able to see with Emilia the generational threads and how they all come together to create an epic climax.

There are not enough words to describe the enjoyment I received from The Secret Diary of Rome. It enlightened and inspired me as great fiction should. I cannot praise this novel enough. An absolute must-read! 5 Stars Plus! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️+

 Thanks to M A McLaughlin and Joffe Books for a review copy.