culture
December 19, 2025
A Peek at an Alternate Venice
Anne Applebaum went searching for the city the novelist Henry James got to know.
TL;DR
- Venice is often criticized as being too expensive, hot, and crowded, with many calling it overrated.
- Despite negative perceptions, Venice has long been a source of artistic inspiration, influencing figures like John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, and Isabella Stewart Gardner.
- Henry James was deeply inspired by Venice, setting his novella *The Aspern Papers* there and visiting the city multiple times.
- James's Venice is characterized by deserted squares, less-traveled islands, and cool, dark churches, rather than opulent halls and crowds.
- A recent exploration of Venice sought to find the city James knew, suggesting that this less-touristed Venice is still accessible by taking less obvious paths.
- The article also includes recommendations for plot-heavy books and a discussion on the challenges of performing Shakespeare's "To be, or not to be" soliloquy.
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