The Takeover

The Takeover is a novel by the Scottish author Muriel Spark. It was first published in 1976. It is set in Nemi, Italy between 1973 and 1975. The author had moved to Italy as a permanent resident in the late 1960s. Plot summary Three large villas overlooking Lake Nemi are owned by the wealthy, glamorous American Maggie Radcliffe who has recently remarried to Italian Marchese Berto. One villa is occupied by her son Michael and daughter-in-law Mary where manservant Lauro works. A second is leased by an Italian doctor Emilio Bernardino and his two children Letizia and Pietro taught by English tutor Nancy Cowan (who is also Bernardino's lover). The third is occupied by the eccentric Hubert Mallindaine with his secretary Pauline Thin. Hubert believes himself to be the descendant of the offspring of the Emperor Caligula's mythical liaison with Diana. Once a trusted friend of Maggie Radcliffe, Hubert is now an unwelcome house-sitter whom she wants evicted as quickly as possible. Hubert is not so easily removed, however, and his intransigence and liquidation of Maggie's assets in the house (including Louis XIV Chairs, and a Gauguin painting) is mirrored in the loss of much of Maggie's wealth, from burglary to outright embezzlement of her entire estate. Events conspire however to cause both to review what they consider important.