The Venetians : $b A novel

The story opens on a sun‑kissed Shrove Tuesday when Venice erupts in its most extravagant carnival. Golden clouds hover over Santa Maria della Salute, gondolas drift through a haze of light, and the city’s palaces glitter far brighter than any lantern. Within the bustling Danieli hotel, a mix of English, American, French and German guests mingle amid laughing strangers, hurried waiters, and the ever‑present signor Campi, the charismatic maître who seems to keep the chaos in charming order.

Against this riotous backdrop, two women arrive in a sudden gondola, their entrance hinting at hidden motives and whispered alliances. As merchants bargain, lovers flirt, and strangers swap stories over wine, the lay‑over becomes a stage for tangled desires, secret negotiations, and the first stirrings of a mystery that will ripple through the canals. Listeners are invited to taste the perfume of rose‑strewn alleys, hear the echo of masked laughter, and follow the early threads that bind the lives of these Venetians together.