Faber snaps up John Banville's 'haunted' historical novel
Faber has acquired Venetian Vespers by John Banville, a "haunted" stand-alone historical novel set in Venice from the Booker Prize-winning author.
Publisher director Angus Cargill acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Luke Ingram at the Wylie Agency. Faber will publish the book in September 2025.
The synopsis says: "1899. As the new century approaches, English hack-writer Evelyn Dolman marries Laura Rensselaer, the daughter of a wealthy American plutocrat, and looks forward to the financial freedom this will afford him. But in the midst of a mysterious rift between Laura and her father, Evelyn’s plans of a substantial inheritance are thrown into doubt."
It adds: "As the unhappy newlyweds travel to Venice for New Year at Palazzo Dioscuri – the ancestral home of the charming but treacherous Count Barbarigo – a series of seemingly otherworldly occurrences exacerbate Evelyn’s already-frayed nerves: is it just the sea mist blanketing the floating city or is he losing his mind?"
Cargill said: "Venetian Vespers sees John Banville, one of the great prose stylists of our time, on delicious form. Eerie, haunted and dripping with atmosphere, the novel’s Venetian fin de siècle setting is one to relish."
