'An adventure story pure and simple ... crammed with amorous intrigues, narrow escapes, comic mishaps and last-minute rescues' Jonathan Keates, Sunday Telegraph 'Irresistible reading' Megan Marshall, Scotsman 'Bolt has meticulously followed [Da Ponte's] trail ... to create a wide counterpoint of supplementary information and new perspectives. He does so with a travel-writer's eye and a light touch ...The old poet would have enjoyed his biographer's sparkly turn of phrase' Independent 'Bolt has read widely, extracted wisely ... is generous with background detail and scrupulous with the facts ... an entertaining, informative and highly readable narrative' Guardian