About the Author

Jane Turner Rylands grew up in Ohio and graduated from The College of William and Mary in Virginia. She taught English for the University of Maryland's European division for seventeen years. She has lived in Venice since 1973 and is married to Philip Rylands, the director of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

Reviews

“Engaging…Rylands writes with playful elegance and a crisp layer of understated wit.”–Los Angeles Times

“Rylands’ stories are like a teaspoon of grated Parmesan washed down with a swallow of hearty red wine. They’re a discreet indulgence.” –Salon.com

“For anyone who has been bewitched by Venice, the melancholy of Venetian Stories rings true, and it is, indeed, part of the enchantment of the stories and the remarkable city that inspired them.” –The Seattle Times

“Wry yet poignant tales, the best of which startle with Edith Wharton-like twists…a rare, insider’s perspective of a city whose uncertain future makes its past all the more dear.”–Vogue

“These well-informed and well-told Venetian Stories may be as good an insider’s guide as any for the contemporary traveler to the city.” –The Commercial Appeal

“In magnificent prose…. The reader slowly sees the never-ending circle of gossip, intrigue, and heart-wrenching stories of diminished wealth, uncertainty, and gloom that occurs in a city that will never again be what it once was, in a society that is, perhaps, as polluted as the Grand Canal itself.” –Booklist

“These are charming tales of the personal vision of a city with a highly public character. . . . Smart and vivid.” –Kirkus Reviews

“Everything is connected in this clever book of 12 linked stories: islands, people, whole interesting cultures. . . . Rylands’s intricately worked mosaic will please anyone heading to Venice or dreaming of the next visit.” –Publishers Weekly

“Reading Venetian Stories is like taking a vaporetto ride down the Grand Canal. . . . The pleasure is in the ride. . . . Serenissimaniacs only need apply.” –Dallas Morning News

The cast of characters in these dozen stories all live in Venice, but they come from different backgrounds and neighborhoods. There is the haut monde of contessas, baronesses, and lords, a closed world where everyone knows everything about everyone else. This world only occasionally intersects with that of the common people like the mason, the postman, and the gondolier. In "Visitor," a social-climbing American decorator dreams of hobnobbing with the haut monde only to discover that the old aristocracy is heading toward extinction. In "Mayor," remembering how his role model, Gregory Peck, would have behaved saves a mayor from political ruin. In "Interpreter," a lonely baronessa communes with ghosts in a haunted palace. In "Gondolier," a flirtatious gondolier get his comeuppance for an act committed 30 years earlier. Rylands, who has lived in Venice since 1973, uses both keen observation and her vantage point as an outsider to create engaging characters. She is also wickedly funny when she exposes foibles and punctures pretentions. Strongly recommended for all short story collections.-Ravi Shenoy, Naperville P.L., IL Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

"Engaging...Rylands writes with playful elegance and a crisp layer of understated wit."-Los Angeles Times

"Rylands' stories are like a teaspoon of grated Parmesan washed down with a swallow of hearty red wine. They're a discreet indulgence." -Salon.com

"For anyone who has been bewitched by Venice, the melancholy of Venetian Stories rings true, and it is, indeed, part of the enchantment of the stories and the remarkable city that inspired them." -The Seattle Times

"Wry yet poignant tales, the best of which startle with Edith Wharton-like twists...a rare, insider's perspective of a city whose uncertain future makes its past all the more dear."-Vogue

"These well-informed and well-told Venetian Stories may be as good an insider's guide as any for the contemporary traveler to the city." -The Commercial Appeal

"In magnificent prose.... The reader slowly sees the never-ending circle of gossip, intrigue, and heart-wrenching stories of diminished wealth, uncertainty, and gloom that occurs in a city that will never again be what it once was, in a society that is, perhaps, as polluted as the Grand Canal itself." -Booklist

"These are charming tales of the personal vision of a city with a highly public character. . . . Smart and vivid." -Kirkus Reviews

"Everything is connected in this clever book of 12 linked stories: islands, people, whole interesting cultures. . . . Rylands's intricately worked mosaic will please anyone heading to Venice or dreaming of the next visit." -Publishers Weekly

"Reading Venetian Stories is like taking a vaporetto ride down the Grand Canal. . . . The pleasure is in the ride. . . . Serenissimaniacs only need apply." -Dallas Morning News