Donna Leon

Who is Donna Leon?

Donna Leon is the American author of a series of crime novels set in Venice and featuring the fictional hero Commissario Guido Brunetti.

Leon has lived in Venice for over 25 years. She was a lecturer in English literature for the University of Maryland University College - Europe in Italy and then worked as a professor from 1981 to 1999 at the American military base of Vicenza. She stopped teaching and concentrated on writing and other cultural activities in the field of music.

The Commissario Brunetti novels are all situated in or around Venice. They are written in English and translated into many foreign languages, but not into Italian, at Leon's request. The ninth Brunetti novel, Friends in High Places, won the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger in 2000. German Television has produced 18 Commissario Brunetti mysteries for broadcast.