Venice for Lovers

‘Definitely worth slipping in your luggage to read when you’re away’ 
The Times

‘The novella alone is worth buying the book for … a gem.’ 
Times Literary Supplement

‘A charming collection of writing and memoirs of the most romantic of cities.’ 
The Daily Express

‘… a stimulant to travels real and imaginary’ 
Publishers Weekly

‘Refreshing and delightful. Begley and Muhlstein manage to combine in one volume the innocent ardor of a first-time visitor and the seasoned appreciation of longtime lovers.’ 
National Geographic Traveller

Every year for each of the thirty they have been married, Louis Begley and Anka Muhlstein have escaped to Venice to write. In Venice for Lovers, the couple have fashioned an homage to the City of Water. Muhlstein charmingly describes how befriending restauranteurs has been an unsurpassed means of getting to know the city and its inhabitants.

In his novella, Begley writes a story of falling in love with, and in, Venice. His twenty-year-old protagonist is lured to the city by the older woman he adores, only to be left to fend for himself. But he later discovers a lasting love for La Serenissima – not an uncommon occurrence, as Begley’s brilliant portrayal of the city’s place within world literature demonstrates: Henry James, Marcel Proust, and Thomas Mann were all illustrious predecessors in whom Venice inspired dreams of love and passion.

LOUIS BEGLEY was born in Poland in 1933 and moved to New York to practise law in 1959. He is famous for his novel Wartime Lies.

ANKA MUHLSTEIN is a historian and author and has written several books, including Reine éphémères. Mères perpétuelles (Temporary Queens – Eternal Mothers), published by Albin Michel in 2001. She has written several biographies, including a comparative one on Elizbeth I and Mary Stuart. She was honoured by the French Academy for her work on Cavelier de La Salle.

Also by Anka Muhlstein, Balzac’s Omelette.