Christine de Pizan

Christine de Pizan
The Writer Christine de Pizan at Her Desk

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Donna Leon, "An American in Venice"

Donna Leon (born 29 September 1942)


While I love mysteries, I adore the series written by Donna Leon, set in Venice and featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti (and the wonderful Paola--wife, mother, feminist, university professor, incredible cook).

Donna Leon
The first novel in the series, Death at La Fenice, was published in 1992, the most recent, the twenty-fourth in the series, Falling in Love, was published in April of 2015. (I just checked my Amazon account--I pre-ordered it on 23 November 2014!)

For many years, I would order the new Brunetti as soon as the new volume became available for purchase--it would arrive in March or April, but I wouldn't read it right away. Instead, I left it on my nightstand--it was there, waiting for me, and as soon as I turned in my spring semester grades every May, that was my treat.

This year, newly retired, I opened the book and sat down to read the very day it arrived. 

Don't wait another minute!!

Here's a link to Washington Post writer Bob Thompson's wonderful profile of Leon, "An American in Venice" (a phrase I've used in the title of today's post).

Update: The Waters of Eternal Youth was published in 2016, Earthly Remains in 2017, The Temptation of Forgiveness in 2018, Unto Us a Son is Given in 2019, Trace Elements in 2020, Transient Desires in 2021, Give unto Others in 2022, So Shall You Reap in 2023, and A Refiner's Fire in 2024.