A Man of Genius

"Strange and haunting, a gothic novel with a modern consciousness." --Philippa Gregory "A haunting, sophisticated story about a woman discovering the truth about herself and the elusive, possibly illusive, nature of genius." --Sunday Times "Mesmerizing, haunting, imbued with a complete sense of historical verisimilitude" --Times Literary Supplement "A psychologically haunting and disturbing tale as full of mystery, exotic foreign places, and questions of parentage as any penned by her protagonist." --Library Journal "Thrilling and heartbreaking, a gothic novel with emotional heart and depth." --Foreword Reviews "A darkly mischievous novel about love, obsession and the burden of charisma, played out against the backdrop of Venice's watery, decadent glory." --Sarah Dunant "A mesmerizing story of love and obsession in nineteenth-century Venice: dark and utterly compelling." --Natasha Solomons Set in bustling Regency England and decaying Venice, A Man of Genius portrays a psychological journey from safety into secrecy and obsession. After a troubled childhood, Ann achieves independence earning her living as an author of Gothic novels. Within a group of male writers, she meets and is enthralled by the supposed poetic genius, Robert James. They become uneasy lovers. Ann and Robert travel from London through a Europe exhausted by the Napoleonic Wars. They arrive in a Venice of spies and intrigue, where their relationship becomes tortuous and Robert descends into near madness. Forced to flee with a stranger, Ann delves into her past to be jolted by a series of revelations about her lover, her parentage, the stranger, and herself.