Good fiction book about Venice
 

Any recommendations for good reading with Venice as a setting?

Thomas Mann's Death in Venice<BR><BR>Wilkie Collins' Haunted Hotel<BR><BR>Donna Leon's books (detective stories set in Venice) <BR><BR>Any book about Peggy Guggenheim

Toni<BR>I know you asked for fiction, and this isn't...<BR>But I can't resist recommending Jan Morris' "Venice".<BR>It's sold under a slightly different title in the US, I think but you should be able to find it.<BR>She has such skill in weaving in so much history into each page but bringing it alive. I am not one for dry factual books, this one is certainly not that.<BR>Anyway, that's my recommendation for the non fiction.<BR>Kavey

"The Venetian Mask" by Rosalind Laker.

Henry James'short story "The Aspern Papers" is one of the most evocative stories set in Venice that I've ever read. I also loved the Donna Leon books, and there are a couple of mysteries by Edward Sklepowich also set in Venice which are great fun (probably only available from the library).

How about "Don't look now" by Daphne du Maurier. It is a spooky story set in Venice. It was also made into a movie starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. Wonderful Scenery!!

Miss Garnet's Angel... very atmospheric and redolent of Venezia!

Iris, I've been wracking my brain trying to think of the name of "Don't Look Now."; thanks! I saw that movie years ago; wonder if it is out on video? It was eerie-- and sad. I didn't realize it was based on a novel by du Maurier.

Its on video.

Hemingway wrote about Col. Canfield and the yound woman's romance in venice - and his time at Torcello. A good source for what V is like in the winter months. Not sure I recall the title - possibly Across the River and Into the Trees.

The Passion by Janet Winters (totally wrong last name but something like that.) Great book!

Toni: If you need a movie -- in addition to books -- try "Dangerous Beauty" (1998) Catherine McCormack's character is a 16th century courtesan in Venice. (Rufus Sewell is the male lead.)<BR>

Recent find - Sally Vickers &lt;i&gt;Garnet's Angel&lt;/i&gt;. Good story (tho I didn't like the ending), and wonderful descriptions of the narrator's time in Venice.

Oops, sorry, looks like Vickers was posted already. Wish there was an edit function on this forum...

the mysteries by donna leon [some out of print, some in paperback]are superb. the descriptions of the area..streets, canal boats etc are authentic . the characters are delightful.

I highly recommend Erica Jong's Serenissima.

Anne Rice's 'Cry To Heaven'..not all in Venice, but a great story (no, not about vampires) Incredibly descriptive and very mesmerizing.

Wings of the Dove - James I believe?

<BR>Dead Lagoon, by Michael Dibden. A murder mystery. The whole series about detective Aurelio Zen (who keeps getting posted to different cities in Italy) is one of my favorites. Zen was born in Venice.

Another vote for Cry to Heaven by Anne Rice. Such a lush, gorgeous, atmospheric book!

"Those Who Walk Away" is a suspense novel by Patricia Highsmith and is almost entirely set in Venice; it has interesting scenes that take place in the canals, incl. the Grand Canal, St. Mark's Square, hidden lanes and walkways, Harry's Bar and the Lido. I read it just after returning from Venice and really enjoyed re-living the scenery. Highsmith also wrote "The Talented Mr. Ripley" which, you may know if you've seen the movie, is set partly in Venice. It's actually a better book than "Those" but doesn't have as many Venetian scenes.

A beautiful book: The Stone Virgin<BR>by Barry Unsworth. It actually has 3 stories taking place in 3 separate time periods that are woven around the one statue. It's primary story is of an art restorer coming to venice to work on a statue, but the other stories take place at different times in history, and all are part of the "story" of the statue.

A couple of great Italy books are Desiring Italy and Italy In Mind. Both have a series of short stories, poems, letters, journal entries, etc. about regions of Italy, by famous authors. Desiring Italy has only women authors--Edith Wharton, Mary McCarthy, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, etc., while Italy In Mind has a larger group of authors.

The Venetian Affair by Helen MacInnes. This is an international espionage novel, published in 1963, but still interesting. It was one of the books that I first read that made me long to go to Venice.