Backstage : stories of a writing life / Donna Leon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Leon, Donna, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Leon, Donna--Anecdotes.

Leon, Donna.

Leon, Donna--Books and reading.

Women--Italy--Venice--Biography--Anecdotes.

Women.

Venice (Italy)--Biography--Anecdotes.

Venice (Italy).

Women authors--Biography--Anecdotes.

Women authors.

Women teachers--Biography--Anecdotes.

Women teachers.

Detectives in literature.

Genre:

Autobiographies.

Anecdotes.

Physical Description:

xi, 206 pages ; 22 cm

Edition:

First Grove Atlantic hardcover edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Atlantic Monthly Press, an imprint of Grove Atlantic, 2025.

Summary:

"An engaging collection of stories and essays by the celebrated author of the internationally bestselling Guido Brunetti series, infused with her ever-present and delightful senses of humor and irony. Donna Leon's memoir, Wandering through Life, gave her legions of fans a colorful tour through her life, from childhood in New Jersey to adventures in China and Iran, to her love of Venice and opera. Nowhere, however, did she discuss her writing life. In Backstage, Donna reveals her admiration for, and inspiration from, the great crime novelists Ruth Rendell and Ross Macdonald, examining their approach to storytelling as she dissects her favorite books of theirs. She expresses her love for Charles Dickens's Great Expectations and her appreciation for Sir Walter Scott's generosity of spirit. And she chronicles the amount of research she undertakes to be able to present authentically, through Guido Brunetti and his colleagues, places and characters far from her own experience--from interviewing a diamond dealer in Venice to open up the world of blood diamonds, to meeting, through back channels, a courageous sex worker and women's rights activist to depict accurately the trafficking of women in Italy. By contrast, the idea and opening scene of one of her novels came to her as she was walking through Venice. Venice is central in her memory, whether recounting the semicomic irritation of a noisy elderly neighbor or the origins of the city's Carnevale. Her teaching career yields memorable tales: helping a young Black boy in a Newark, New Jersey, elementary school; instructing young Iranian pilots in English just before the 1979 Iranian Revolution; and taking her students at a Swiss private high school to the famous Frank Zappa concert in Montreux interrupted by fire. Throughout, she is as good a storyteller about herself as she is a chronicler of Guido Brunetti's crime adventures. Readers will be as caught up in her world as she is in his"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Early in Life

Heroes

String-Pulling in Venice

Mortal Danger

Trips

Behind the Scene

Amorality

Love

Moment of Truth

Ends.

Other Format:

Online version Leon, Donna Backstage

Online version

ISBN:

9780802165374

0802165370

OCLC:

1463357746