Editorial Content for Backstage: Stories of a Writing Life

Donna Leon was born in New Jersey, lived in Italy for a while, and currently calls Switzerland home. Although she has spent much of her life writing, she is best known for the 33 novels in her insanely popular Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery series, which is set in Venice.

BACKSTAGE is a departure for Leon and a welcome one, as it contains 32 essays that play directly into the book’s subtitle: “Stories of a Writing Life.” This previously unreleased look into her past is told across these pieces, some as short as a few pages. The result is a work that provides Leon’s longtime readers with an opportunity to see what shaped and inspired her to become the writer we all love and thought we knew.

For the purpose of this review, I am highlighting eight essays that especially resonated with me.

“Cedric”: Directly out of the gates is this account of Leon’s time as a schoolteacher and the emotional connection she made with a student in the predominantly Black school where she taught. The child was troubled initially, but she found a way to get through to him.

"BACKSTAGE is filled with insight into Donna Leon’s mind. But more importantly, it sets up her process from the earliest point in her career straight through to her status as a regular on the global bestseller list."

“Jack and Jill”: This essay is extremely smart and insightful as it takes the simple nursery rhyme we all know and breaks it down in a narrative way to demonstrate why it provides the perfect framework for everything readers should want in a story.

“Detectives and Villains”: We learn that Leon’s favorite mystery story is Ruth Rendell’s A JUDGEMENT IN STONE, which also features her favorite villain of all time, Eunice Parchman, who tells you all you really need to know about her in the novel’s opening line. Leon’s favorite detective hero? None other than Rendell’s Inspector Wexford.

“The Diamond Man”: Leon speaks to the adage that writers write what they know. However, in certain storylines, a good deal of research must be done. In this essay, she talks about the diamond expert who helped her greatly in penning BLOOD FROM A STONE.

“Great Expectations”: Leon confesses that the one novel she keeps returning to is Charles Dickens’ GREAT EXPECTATIONS. She first fell in love with the book at the age of 15 and explains how her understanding of and appreciation for it has changed as she has matured and gained more life experience.

“Regina”: Leon goes a little deeper into how she conducts research for her novels. In this case, to better understand the world of the Italian prostitute in Venice for DEATH AND JUDGMENT, she befriended a local prostitute and comments on her difficult and tragic life.

“San Gennaro”: For me, the name San Gennaro will always be connected to the terrific street and food festival held in New York City, the Feast of San Gennaro. I appreciate it even more after reading this essay from Leon, who experiences the same thing at the location where it all started in Italy.

“A New Case for Brunetti”: Leon gives us a peek into how she creates characters for her stories, specifically those from the Brunetti novels. It is nice to see how her methods may differ from the structure many other authors she knows uses and how she consistently has gone out of her way to make sure that the principal characters from her series have been allowed to grow into complex, real people.

BACKSTAGE is filled with insight into Donna Leon’s mind. But more importantly, it sets up her process from the earliest point in her career straight through to her status as a regular on the global bestseller list. It also makes me that much more eager to read and appreciate her next Guido Brunetti novel.