Thriller set on the coast of SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Talking Location With … M J Robotham – VENICE
29th March 2024
#TalkingLocationWith ... M J Robotham, author of THE SCANDALOUS LIFE OF RUBY DEVEREAUX
Love the Life of the Laguna
The travels of Ruby M Devereaux take her far and wide and, with the exception of Vietnam, these are all places I’ve visited in my own life, squirrelled away for future use in a novel. The destination that draws me back repeatedly (eleven trips to date) is Venice, the floating jewel of the Adriatic; I defy anyone not to fall in love with the sheer magic of a city built on mudflats, exuding beauty from every nook, history seeping from its crevices; where the public water bus is a tour along one of the best architectural museums of the Grand Canal, and even the toilets are ornate. And let’s not forget the mouth-watering gelato!
Since my first visit in 1990, my partner and I have toured the art galleries, taken our two boys on boats and up towers (and there are plenty to climb!), waded through the winter flooding with our feet in plastic bags, and soaked up what still feels like a fairytale to me. Even now, I consult the map before each visit, gawping at this collection of islands, seemingly stuck out on a limb of mainland Italy, couched in the stunning natural lagoon. How was it even conceived, let alone built?
Photo: Reddit. Wooden Piles under Venice Lagoon
The fact is, Venice feels solid as a rock under your feet, the original wooden stakes hammered into the mud now layered with centuries of solid brick, spawning monolithic churches and ornate palazzos of the Venetian nobility, each decorated like a marble wedding cake. With each return trip, I vow to go further, to cast aside my dog-eared map and get lost in its labyrinth of tiny alleyways that inexplicably open out to a beautiful piazza and a restaurant where Venetians are sitting al fresco enjoying pasta and sunshine, or that café snuck in a corner serving the best cornetti pastry.
Rain or shine, winter or summer, the ‘City of Canals’ never disappoints. And not for Ruby either, who found fascination in Venice of the stylish early 60’s, and arguably the love of her life in Enzo. Through her wide mascara-ed eyes, and from behind the safety of my laptop, I take her speeding across the laguna with Enzo at the boat’s helm, looking out over the Adriatic from the much less celebrated isle of Giudecca, eating squid-ink spaghetti and yes, floating under the Rialto Bridge in a gondola – it has to be done, even if it’s just once, while you cringe with embarrassment at being ‘the tourist’. Over the dream-like months, Ruby has the full Venetian experience. And much more.
Photo; Fascination Venice
So, have I had my fill of this floating fairytale? Absolutely not. I’m approaching a Significant Birthday and a little nest egg – I plan to hire myself a small apartment for a couple of months, practice the Italian I’m so diligently learning, and to endlessly walk the enigmatic streets (and find that blasted café again!). To live the city, if only for a short while.
You never know, there may even be a book to emerge from it.
M J Robotham
The Scandalous Life of Ruby Devereaux is published by Aria Fiction/Head of Zeus, April 11th in the UK. In eBook, audio and in hardback.
Catch the author on TwitterX @mandyrobothamuk
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