--- product_id: 49643124 title: "Beneath a Scarlet Sky: A Novel" price: "€ 20.37" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.be/products/49643124-beneath-a-scarlet-sky-a-novel store_origin: BE region: Belgium --- # Beneath a Scarlet Sky: A Novel **Price:** € 20.37 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Beneath a Scarlet Sky: A Novel - **How much does it cost?** € 20.37 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.be](https://www.desertcart.be/products/49643124-beneath-a-scarlet-sky-a-novel) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Based on the true story of a forgotten hero, the USA Today and #1 desertcart Charts bestseller Beneath a Scarlet Sky is the triumphant, epic tale of one young man’s incredible courage and resilience during one of history’s darkest hours. Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He’s a normal Italian teenager―obsessed with music, food, and girls―but his days of innocence are numbered. When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps, and falls for Anna, a beautiful widow six years his senior. In an attempt to protect him, Pino’s parents force him to enlist as a German soldier―a move they think will keep him out of combat. But after Pino is injured, he is recruited at the tender age of eighteen to become the personal driver for Adolf Hitler’s left hand in Italy, General Hans Leyers, one of the Third Reich’s most mysterious and powerful commanders. Now, with the opportunity to spy for the Allies inside the German High Command, Pino endures the horrors of the war and the Nazi occupation by fighting in secret, his courage bolstered by his love for Anna and for the life he dreams they will one day share. Fans of All the Light We Cannot See , The Nightingale , and Unbroken will enjoy this riveting saga of history, suspense, and love. Review: Amazing - This story is , yes, amazing, even unbelievable, except it is true. The story is fictionalized - I would say a bit romanticized - and there were times when I thought "Really?" But then you are forced to hear " Yes, really". My marker is The Narrow Road to the Deep North ,which is the best in its class, and this runs it very close. Well written, very well written, you are taken on a journey where you feel excitement, fear,the full joy of love and the deep horror of war. There are two moments when this Englishman rebelled in the use of music ( Nessun Dorma and Pagliacci ) as being over romantic - but this is Italy - it's in their souls ,and I quibble with such a wonderful book. This is truly a book you won't put down. Best of the year so far. Note to the author - 'crescendo' means the build up to a climax not the climax itself. A common mistake. Review: An epic wartime tale of love and loss - In 2006, the author Mark Sullivan was at a particularly low ebb. His younger brother and best friend had drunk himself to death; his last novel had gone down like a lead balloon; and he was staring bankruptcy in the face. He began to have suicidal thoughts, realizing that with his insurance policy in place, he was worth more to his family dead than alive. Then, by chance, he was introduced to an old man named Pino Lella. The two men had some kind of affinity, and the older man confided in Sullivan and eventually revealed his extraordinary story from the closing years of the war in Italy. It was by Sullivan's own admission a story that made his own circumstances look incredibly tame by comparison. Here was a story he could lose himself in. A story that would literally save him. And what an incredible story it is. In 1943, Pino Lella was a seventeen-year-old teenager with nothing more than music, food and girls on his mind. But his life is suddenly thrown into turmoil when the family home in Miln is destroyed by Allied bombing. As a result, Pino is sent by his father to stay with the priest Father Re in the Alps and out of harm's way. And it is here that the boy is trained to climb mountain passes and to familiarise himself with the terrain. The priest is running an underground escape route for Jews to escape the Nazis by taking a treacherous expedition across the Alps and into Switzerland. Pino will become one of the route's invaluable guides. As Pino nears the age of eighteen, his parents have a terrifying choice. Should their son join the Italian army only to be butchered on the Russian front; join the resistance where his plight looked every bit as precarious; or alternatively join the German army? In an attempt to protect him, they insist that he enlists as a German soldier. Pino protests bitterly, but finally and begrudgingly joins up, and is soon injured and sent to recuperate. By some miraculous stroke of luck, he helps to fix one of the German staff cars and is noticed by the car's passenger, General Hans Leyer - Adolf Hitler's left-hand man in Italy and one of the Third Reich's most powerful commanders. Leyer immediately fires his driver and appoints Pino as his replacement on the spot. From this moment onwards Pino is ideally placed to seek retribution on the forces of evil that have wreaked havoc on his homeland. He has a unique opportunity to spy on the Nazi's plans for Italy. He also encounters Anna, the maid to Leyer's mistress, and for the first time in his life, falls hopelessly in love. 'Beneath a Scarlet Sky' is a powerful and emotive saga of love and loss set against one of the darkest episodes of human history. It's a haunting and beautifully penned narrative that will stay with you long after turning the last page. Alex Pearl is author of 'Sleeping with the Blackbirds' and 'The Chair Man'. ## Features - Triumphant, epic tale of one young man’s incredible courage and resilience during one of history’s darkest hours - Riveting saga of history, suspense, and love - Based on the true story of a forgotten hero ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | 10,305 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 15 in Biographical & Autofiction 333 in Literary Fiction (Books) 336 in Historical Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 230,997 Reviews | ## Images ![Beneath a Scarlet Sky: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61PH8dX1GYL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazing *by M***N on 9 April 2017* This story is , yes, amazing, even unbelievable, except it is true. The story is fictionalized - I would say a bit romanticized - and there were times when I thought "Really?" But then you are forced to hear " Yes, really". My marker is The Narrow Road to the Deep North ,which is the best in its class, and this runs it very close. Well written, very well written, you are taken on a journey where you feel excitement, fear,the full joy of love and the deep horror of war. There are two moments when this Englishman rebelled in the use of music ( Nessun Dorma and Pagliacci ) as being over romantic - but this is Italy - it's in their souls ,and I quibble with such a wonderful book. This is truly a book you won't put down. Best of the year so far. Note to the author - 'crescendo' means the build up to a climax not the climax itself. A common mistake. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An epic wartime tale of love and loss *by A***L on 11 September 2020* In 2006, the author Mark Sullivan was at a particularly low ebb. His younger brother and best friend had drunk himself to death; his last novel had gone down like a lead balloon; and he was staring bankruptcy in the face. He began to have suicidal thoughts, realizing that with his insurance policy in place, he was worth more to his family dead than alive. Then, by chance, he was introduced to an old man named Pino Lella. The two men had some kind of affinity, and the older man confided in Sullivan and eventually revealed his extraordinary story from the closing years of the war in Italy. It was by Sullivan's own admission a story that made his own circumstances look incredibly tame by comparison. Here was a story he could lose himself in. A story that would literally save him. And what an incredible story it is. In 1943, Pino Lella was a seventeen-year-old teenager with nothing more than music, food and girls on his mind. But his life is suddenly thrown into turmoil when the family home in Miln is destroyed by Allied bombing. As a result, Pino is sent by his father to stay with the priest Father Re in the Alps and out of harm's way. And it is here that the boy is trained to climb mountain passes and to familiarise himself with the terrain. The priest is running an underground escape route for Jews to escape the Nazis by taking a treacherous expedition across the Alps and into Switzerland. Pino will become one of the route's invaluable guides. As Pino nears the age of eighteen, his parents have a terrifying choice. Should their son join the Italian army only to be butchered on the Russian front; join the resistance where his plight looked every bit as precarious; or alternatively join the German army? In an attempt to protect him, they insist that he enlists as a German soldier. Pino protests bitterly, but finally and begrudgingly joins up, and is soon injured and sent to recuperate. By some miraculous stroke of luck, he helps to fix one of the German staff cars and is noticed by the car's passenger, General Hans Leyer - Adolf Hitler's left-hand man in Italy and one of the Third Reich's most powerful commanders. Leyer immediately fires his driver and appoints Pino as his replacement on the spot. From this moment onwards Pino is ideally placed to seek retribution on the forces of evil that have wreaked havoc on his homeland. He has a unique opportunity to spy on the Nazi's plans for Italy. He also encounters Anna, the maid to Leyer's mistress, and for the first time in his life, falls hopelessly in love. 'Beneath a Scarlet Sky' is a powerful and emotive saga of love and loss set against one of the darkest episodes of human history. It's a haunting and beautifully penned narrative that will stay with you long after turning the last page. Alex Pearl is author of 'Sleeping with the Blackbirds' and 'The Chair Man'. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good, but with reservations *by J***K on 15 May 2017* This is an incredible story which certainly deserved to be told, and must admit I know a lot more now about the traumas that Italy went through during WW2 than I ever knew before. I'm taking it on trust that the basic story is absolutely true, but I did wonder as I read through it to what extent it might have been 'tweaked' a bit here and there, how many of the finer details were added to make it a more exciting or fulfilling read? I also felt it was a bit slow to start, and even when it finally got going, and Pino is sent up into the mountains to stay with the priest, he's almost immediately sent out by the priest to climb the surrounding mountains virtually every day, for up to 5 hours a day, and neither Pino nor the readers are told why. Pino apparently does it unquestioningly, which I found a bit hard to believe, and I kept wanting to yell out loud, 'For pity's sake put us all out of our misery and TELL us why he's having to do this!' We, and Pino, are told eventually. There was one other niggle, which was that I felt that it was written in an 'American accent', and throughout the characters are using what to me sounded like modern-day American words and/or expressions. This grated a bit, when people in Italy in 1943/44 are saying 'have a nice day', or, in the narrative, the word 'gotten' cropped up quite frequently, or 'he gunned the car', and various other examples that I can't recall now. But it did grate a bit, although maybe that's just me, and perhaps it wouldn't bother other readers. But overall I enjoyed it and think it's worth a read. ## Frequently Bought Together - Beneath a Scarlet Sky: A Novel - The Last Green Valley: A Novel - The Frozen River: A GMA Book Club Pick: A Novel --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.be/products/49643124-beneath-a-scarlet-sky-a-novel](https://www.desertcart.be/products/49643124-beneath-a-scarlet-sky-a-novel) --- *Product available on Desertcart Belgium* *Store origin: BE* *Last updated: 2026-05-23*