Venetian Vespers by John Banville and the influence of Don’t Look Now and other novellas set in Venice.
John Banville
Irish novelist and short story writer John Banville has been nominated for the Booker Prize three times and won it with The Sea in 2005. His new novel, Venetian Vespers, was published on 25th September 2025, and is sure to be hugely popular with all who read it.
Here are a few words to set the scene:
Set in the year 1899, Venetian Vespers is told from the perspective of the unfortunate Evelyn Dolman, a self-confessed hack-writer who marries Laura Rensselaer, the daughter of a wealthy American plutocrat, but in the midst of a mysterious rift between Laura and her father, Evelyn’s plans of a substantial inheritance are thrown into doubt.
The front cover of Venetian Vespers
John Banville took part in the BBC Radio 4 programme, Take Four Books, on Sunday, 12th October, and you can still listen to it on BBC Sounds by clicking on this link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002krbx
In the programme, he discussed three novellas, all set in Venice, that influenced him when he was writing Venetian Vespers. They are Don’t Look Now (1971) by Daphne du Maurier, The Aspern Papers (1888) by Henry James, and Death in Venice (1912) by Thomas Mann.
During the radio programme, John Banville talks about his views on Daphne du Maurier as a writer, with particular emphasis on her mastery of the text in Don’t Look Now, and there is a short extract from a documentary about Daphne, when she talked with Wilfred De’Ath in 1971.
BBC Radio Four's Take Four Books
Here are the publication details you will need when ordering your copy:
UK Hardback
Venetian Vespers by John Banville
Published by: Faber and Faber
ISBN: 978 0571386635
Publication date: 25th September 2025
RRP: £16.99
October 2025.