A true story becomes a novel in Mark T. Sullivan’s latest book. And as it’s set in the Italian Alps near Madesimo, it’s a volume that’s tempting readers from all over the world to visit this extraordinary Alpine location. There’s little more magical than relaxing with a good book. Curled up on the sofa, in front of an open fire perhaps, after a busy day at work and as a chilly Autumn eve advances. And when the new volume is actually set in places that you are well familiar with - then so much the better. And Mark T. Sullivan’s “The Last Surviving Hero” is all that and more: an exciting and compelling narrative, it tells of an Italian boy who adopts the role of “guide” in order to save hundreds of jews and all within our very own Alpine territory, along our pathways and landscapes.
At Motta to be precise, and the Casa Alpina there – but also featuring Madesimo and Chiavenna – and where the ice and snow of winter provide the perfect setting for its taut, tension-packed prose. The central character - inspired by a true story - is Pino Lella, a youngster from Milan who was obliged by his parents in 1943 to move to Motta – to become a guest of Don Luigi Re, in order to escape the bombardment of the city. Once in the mountains Pino joins an organisation which helps jews to find an escape by way of the Alps and in the meantime he falls in love with a young and enchanting widow, Anna. The boy’s parents later force him to enlist as a soldier in the German ranks, but following an accident he finds himself assigned as personal driver to General Hans Leyers, one of the most feared and powerful commanders in the Third Reich, in fact Hitler’s right hand man in Italy.
However the young protagonist does not resign himself to remaining part of those ranks and seizes the opportunity to collect and pass on vital information. A veritable spy in fact. With all the risks involved. A best seller in the United States under the title “Beneath a Scarlet Sky”, the novel was first published in english in 2017, remaining in the popular book lists for weeks. Since then, tourists from all over the world, but particularly from America have made the pilgrimage to see the actual setting and to appreciate the mountains of the upper Valle Spluga and the novel’s environs. A film company has already acquired the rights and pretty soon the general public will have the opportunity of witnessing the drama on the big screen, with Tom Holland as the leading player. A former journalist with the Reuters News Agency and a Peace Corps volunteer, Mark T. Sullivan is the author of numerous thrillers which have been internationally acclaimed, including “Private Games and Private L.A.” The idea for “L’ultimo eroe sopravvissuto”, as noted in the book’s preface, came in 2006 when fate was to take a hand, in the shape of fragments of a conversation overheard over dinner which inspired the writer anew following a particularly difficult period in his life.
