A bestseller in German before she was widely known elsewhere, she credits her Swiss publisher, the family-owned Diogenes, with having “made my career”. Leon is single, and feels this suits her. “I think most people profit immeasurably from marriage in every sense, but I'm too restless,” she says.

Why did Donna Leon leave Italy?

By 1981, when she was almost 40, Leon was ready to settle down. Venice was where she wanted to live, and landing the position with the University of Maryland made it financially possible to do so: she taught US servicemen and women at nearby military bases until the income from her books allowed her to retire.

Is there a new Donna Leon book?

Transient Desires: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery (The Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries, 30) Hardcover – March 9, 2021.