Louis Begley was born in Poland in 1933. He became famous for his novel Wartime Lies, which won the PEN/Hemingway Award in 1991. His other novels include About Schmidt – adapted into a film of the same name starring Jack Nicholson – Matters of Honor, Shipwreck, Schmidt Delivered, Mistler’s Exit, As Max Saw It and The Man Who Was Late. He is also the author of numerous works of non-fiction, including Why the Dreyfus Affair Matters. Anka Muhlstein is a celebrated biographer and historian. She was awarded the Goncourt Prize in 1996 for her biography of Custine. She is the author of Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart, The Perils of Marriage and Balzac’s Omelette.

‘The novella alone is worth buying the book for...a gem.’

• Preface / vii by Louis Begley and Anka Muhlstein The Only Way to Enter Venice / 1 by Louis Begley The Keys to Venice / 27 by Anka Muhlstein Venice: Reflections of a Novelist / 59 by Louis Begley

Louis Begley was born in Poland in 1933. He became famous for his novel Wartime Lies, which won the PEN/Hemingway Award in 1991. His other novels include About Schmidt – adapted into a film of the same name starring Jack Nicholson – Matters of Honor, Shipwreck, Schmidt Delivered, Mistler’s Exit, As Max Saw It and The Man Who Was Late. He is also the author of numerous works of non-fiction, including Why the Dreyfus Affair Matters. Anka Muhlstein is a celebrated biographer and historian. She was awarded the Goncourt Prize in 1996 for her biography of Custine. She is the author of Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart, The Perils of Marriage and Balzac’s Omelette.

‘The novella alone is worth buying the book for...a gem.’

• Preface / vii by Louis Begley and Anka Muhlstein The Only Way to Enter Venice / 1 by Louis Begley The Keys to Venice / 27 by Anka Muhlstein Venice: Reflections of a Novelist / 59 by Louis Begley