About Donna Leon
Donna Leon is an American novelist, mainly famous for
her crime novels set in the Northern Italian city of Venice. Her novels
are centered around Venetian police detective Commissario
Brunetti.
Donna Leon was born in New Jersey in 1942. After studying in her native
country and further in Siena and Perugia, she taught English and English
literature. She lived in Venice for 30 years and it was during a visit
to Venice’s theater Teatro La Fenice that the idea for her first
Brunetti novel “Death at La Fenice” came to her. It was published in
1992. Until now 30 Brunetti novels have been published, as well as eight
further novels and non-fiction books. Currently she resides in a small
village in the Swiss Alps.
Commissario Brunetti Novels
The protagonist in Donna Leon's novels is the cultured and modest
Venetian Commissario Guido Brunetti. He is a
detective for the local police, and as such has to fight not only
Venice’s underbelly but also its cumbersome bureaucracy and
opportunistic colleagues. Through Brunetti's eyes, however, Leon not
only captures Venetian attitudes to current issues such as corruption,
mass tourism and climate change. She also captures the beauty of the
eternal city in a way that can only be made more comprehensible by a
visit to Venice itself.
Her works have been published in 35
languages. At Leon’s request, however, they do not appear in Italian, so
that the Venetians, from whom she got her stories and inspiration, would
continue to deal with her in an unbiased manner and because she wanted
to live a normal life in Venice unrecognized. You can find the complete
list of Donna Leon's works on her official
website.
Walking Tours
We now offer group and private walking tours through Venice, tailored to your favourite Commissario Brunetti adventures. Visit all the memorable spots from the novels and discover Venice's hidden beauty on foot.