The Silver Book

This is a new book. Condition: Brand New.

Queer love story meets true crime thriller in the dream factory of 1970s cinema, from award-winning, bestselling author Olivia Laing

It is September 1974. Two men meet by chance in Venice. One is a young English artist, in panicked flight from London. The other is Danilo Donati, the magician of Italian cinema, the designer responsible for realising the spectacular visions of Fellini and Pasolini. Donati is in Venice to produce sketches for Fellini's Casanova. A young - and beautiful - apprentice is just what he needs.

He sweeps Nicholas to Rome, into the looking-glass world of Cinecitt , the studio where Casanova's Venice will be ingeniously assembled. Then in the spring, the lovers move together to the set of Sal , Pasolini's horrifying fable of fascism.

But Nicholas has a secret and in this world of constant illusion, his real nature passes unseen. Amidst the rising tensions of Italy's 'Years of Lead', he acts as an accelerant, setting in motion a tragedy he didn't intend . . .

Book details and technical specifications

Format: Paperback / softback
ISBN13: 9781405982290
Published: June 2026

Number of pages: 256
Width: 130 mm
Height: 198 mm
Depth: 18 mm

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd