By Santa Montefiore | Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Santa Montefiore is an internationally bestselling author of many books including The French Gardener, The Summer House, and The Beekeeper’s Daughter.  Her recent release, Secrets of the Lighthouse, has garnered widespread praise.  As Jojo Moyes puts it, “Nobody does epic romance like Santa Montefiore. Everything she writes, she writes from the heart.”   Here, Santa discusses books she treasures.

 Reading for pleasure is my ultimate luxury. Being an author means that most of the time I’m either writing and polishing my own novels, or researching for the next one. 

 Consequently, I adore picking up a novel and disappearing into another world, but I’m very particular about what that world should give me. I want escapism. I want to smell it, taste it, and feel it—it has to be sensual, and I want to read prose that is uplifting, lyrical, and beautiful. I want a book I cannot put down, a book I hate to finish, and a story with characters who stay with me long after I have finished reading. I’ve read loads of novels, some great, some not so great, some entertaining, and some downright dreary. 
Few have stayed with me, but those that do are the ones I treasure and pass on to my friends. Here are some of the books I love.