Next Mystery Will be Set in Venice

The second Sargent/Paget Mystery is set in the dreamlike, watery city of Venice -- a tourist attraction even in 1879 when the likes of Henry James, John Sargent, James Whistler, and many other artists, literati and socialites from all over the world gathered to glide along the canals and drink espresso at Florian's in St. Mark's Square. I spent some days in Venice about two years ago, and it made a deep impression on me as I walked through the narrow calles and stone campos, looking for all the places that John Sargent may have planted his easel and painted watercolors evocative of the antiquity of this city-state. Here are some comparisons of his paintings and my photographs. (I like the paintings better!)