The Rough Guide to Venice and the Veneto

of expat life in a village near Verona.
John Pemble Venice Rediscovered
(Oxford University Press, o/p).
This is one of the most engrossing
studies of the city to have appeared
in recent years, concentrating on the
ever-changing perceptions of Venice as
a cultural icon since it ceased to exist
as a political power. An eloquent writer,
totally uninfected by the preciousness
that overcomes so many writers
on Venice, Pemble unearths stories
missing from all other histories.
Dorothea Ritter Venice in Old Photographs
1841–1920 (Laurence King, o/p;
Bulfinch, o/p). A well-researched and
beautifully presented book, packed
with rare images of Venice spanning
the years from the birth of photography
to the birth of mass tourism. The
cityscapes have barely altered, but the
scenes of everyday Venetian life come
from another world.
A.J.A. Symons The Quest for Corvo
(New York Review of Books). Misanthropic,
devious and solitary, Frederick
Rolfe was a tricky subject for a
biographer to tackle, and Symons’ celebrated
book, subtitled An Experiment
in Biography, makes the difficult process
of writing Rolfe’s life the focus of
its narrative. An engrossing piece of
literary detective work, and a perfect
introduction to Rolfe’s Venetian novel,
The Desire and Pursuit of the Whole.
Stefan Zweig Casanova: A Study in
Self-Portraiture (Pushkin Press, o/p in
US). A fascinating study of Casanova’s
life and autobiography, offering a persuasive
analysis that differs strikingly
from the clichéd image of Casanova as
a real-life Don Juan – in fact, Zweig
presents him as the very antithesis of
Don Juan the misogynistic seducer.
Though brief, this is the best book on
its subject.
CONTEXTS
| Books
428