Banana Cat: Tales of the City (Abacus Books) - Softcover

For CARNEVALE: 'A dazzling, baroque tale' S.TRIBUNE 'Intriguing, magical' AXM 'Drips detail and drama' ELLE 'Rarely have I seen a historical period so brilliantly portrayed. Lovric has brought Venice to life in all of its tattered glory' HIST. NOVEL SOCIETY 'A truly sensual glide' LISA ST AUBIN DE TERAN For THE VIRAGO BOOK OF CHRISTMAS: 'A sparkling collection ... the perfect antidote to the usual festive fare' WHAT'S ON

Elusive and fantastical, Venice is a many-layered confection of history. The writers here have captured what is most important to them in pieces ranging from the city's foundation up to the present time. The voices, entirely diverse, are both international and native: here we meet Hans Christian Andersen, Paolo Barbaro, Bernard Berenson, Mary Braddon, Casanova, Chekov, Thomas Coryate, Gabriele D'Annunzio, John Evelyn, Hans Habe, Hermann Melville, Claude Monet, Margaret Oliphant, Ezra Pound, Rainer Maria Rilke, Francesco Sansovino, Frances Trollope and Elio Zorzi. Variously a City of the Soul, The Watery City, The Merchant City, City Afloat, City at Play, The Cruel City, City of Courtesans, City of Arts, City of Flavours, The Haunted City and City of the Future, Venice is captured here in all her moods.