Books by Alexandra Turney

Alexandra Turney grew up in London and studied English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford. She lives in Rome, where she works as an English teacher and freelance writer. Her specialities include helping Italians to understand the present perfect and writing about alternative tourist attractions in Rome. Almost all of her writing, both fictional and non-fictional, is related to Italy in some way, and has appeared in the Huffington Post, Go Nomad, L'Italo-Americano, Panoram Italia and Urban Travel Blog.

In Exile is her second novel, dreamt up on the metro - "What would happen if Dionysus were re-born in a 20th century Rome where no one believed in him?" Inspired by Euripides' The Bacchae, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, and an obscure 19th century sub-genre of "Greek gods in exile" stories, In Exile tells the story of a melancholy Dionysus and his three teenage followers in Rome.

Alexandra has always been interested in the theme of exile, and the feeling of living in the wrong place or time. Passions for 19th century literature and post-punk/new wave music of the 1980s mean that she was born at least a couple of decades (if not centuries) too late.

She is currently halfway through writing her third novel, The Living Cult, set in a Purgatory based on Naples.

Alexandra writes about life in Rome and Italian culture on her blog, Go Thou to Rome. You can also follow her on Instagram.