A Venetian Affair: A True Tale of Forbidden Love in the 18th Century

by Andrea di Robilant

In the waning days of Venice’s glory in the mid-1700s, Andrea Memmo was scion to one the city’s oldest patrician families. At the age of twenty-four he fell passionately in love with sixteen-year-old Giustiniana Wynne, the beautiful, illegitimate daughter of a Venetian mother and British father. Because of their dramatically different positions in society, they could not marry. And Giustiniana’s mother, afraid that an affair would ruin her daughter’s chances to form a more suitable union, forbade them to see each other. Her prohibition only fueled their desire and so began their torrid, secret seven-year-affair, enlisting the aid of a few intimates and servants (willing to risk their own positions) to shuttle love letters back and forth and to help facilitate their clandestine meetings. Eventually, Giustiniana found herself pregnant and she turned for help to the infamous Casanova–himself infatuated with her.

Two and half centuries later, the unbelievable story of this star-crossed couple is told in a breathtaking narrative, re-created in part from the passionate, clandestine letters Andrea and Giustiniana wrote to each other.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Italy, Biography, Historical, Romance, 18th Century

291 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Andrea di Robilant was educated at Le Rosey and Columbia University. He now lives in Rome, working as a correspondent for the newspaper La Stampa.

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Palazzo Mocenigo was Byron's home when he lived in Venice. It was also the home of this author's father who one day found a cache of frayed compacted letters in the attic. They were love letters from an English woman with dubious lineage called Giustiniana Wynne and addressed to a Venetian nobleman called Andrea Memmo. Both were already known to history through their relationship with Casanova. The letters were written in cypher and the author's father set about decoding them. Then, one day, he was mysteriously murdered in his home and his project of publishing the letters was ended. Until his son took up the challenge.

In the best romantic tradition the affair of Andrea and Giustiniana was forbidden by both families and the ruling establishment. They had to meet on the sly. This was made easier in the Venice of the middle 18th century by the fact that people were allowed to wear masks for a good period of the year. I greatly enjoyed the evocation of 18th century Venice. Details such as women having three options for painted beauty spots - the "appassionata" worn at the corner of the eye, the "coquette" above the top lip, the "assassina" at the corner of the mouth. I would have opted for the assassina.

The author manages to get hold of some of Andrea's letters and does a fine job of organising his material into a narrative of Andrea and Giustiniana's affair. Essentially though this is Giustiniana's story and it's a captivating story. Andrea is more shadowy and at times comes across as a cad. The first plan they devise is for her to marry the eighty year old British counsel in Venice. Morality in Venice is bonkers. It's fine for her to have an affair with Andrea as the wife of someone else but not as a single woman. This plan fails and we afterwards follow Giustiniana to Paris and London from where she never stops writing to Andrea .

[Barb · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a non-fiction work about the long lasting love affair between Andrea Memmo and Giustiniana Wynne who are forbidden lovers unable to marry because of their very different positions in society in eighteenth century Venice.

I expected a story of romance and unfortunately I didn't find anything about this story romantic. I thought the lovers in this historical tale were crazy, lying, obsessive lunatics and if they lived in America in present time they would have had restraining orders filed against them by the other ones' family.

I can't say that Andrea di Robilant didn't create a well written and researched story, he did. Unfortunately for me I didn't at all care for the people this story was about. The history was very interesting I will say that but again I didn't think this was a romantic story at all.

I found the behavior of the lovers offensive and irritating. I thought that Andre Memmo was a controlling and possessive womanizer and I thought that Giustiniana was a dishonest and conspiring fool who used her fixation on Memmo to distract herself and sabotage any chance she had of being successful when she was a young woman.

[Mela]

A fascinating story but told boringly.

I struggled with reading it. I wanted to learn Andrea and Giustiniana's story very much. Their life (especially relationship) begged for a book (and a movie). Yet, how it was described by Andrea di Robilant let much to wish. I envy those who were able to enjoy the book. Unfortunately, I am one of those who couldn't accept the form.

So, I have read on Wikipedia facts about the life of Andrea and Giustiniana - the rest will be just my imagination.

[Nick Garbutt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Like most people I know I have bought far more books over the years than I have read. Whenever I visit a bookshop I buy too many and I am an absolute menace in second hand bookshops. This means that the latest purchases get priority and older ones not yet read, forgotten. It has got to the stage where I am fast running out of space for them all, which is ridiculous when you consider how many are still unread.
A couple of years ago I decided to put this right, strictly rationing purchases so that the unread get a look in. This has been a very rewarding exercise and I’ve discovered a lot of forgotten gems this way. But every now and then I come across a stinker.
A Venetian Affair looked so promising. It is a family history set in 18th Century Venice. The 18th Century is one of my favourite historical periods, it spans the Enlightenment years and the dawn of reason, so it ushers in the modern age. Venice too fascinates me. It is a beautiful city, mysterious and beguiling and Venetian civilisation is also a big draw: so warlike and cruel: full of plots, assassinations and intrigue.
The book, however, is a major disappointment. I forced myself through 100 pages before it joined a very small group of works I’ve not even finished. Believe me, it takes a lot to stop me finishing a book. It feels like an insult to the author who has put so much thought into writing it.
But I could not care less about the characters described. The fact that writer is a descendant of one of them may well be a fascinating to him, but it wasn’t to me. This one is destined to have its second coming in the second hand bookstore it came from.

[Elizabeth]

A scholarly examination of the love affair between Giustiniana Wynne and Andrea Memmo.

[Helen Carolan · Rating 2 out of 5]

How disappointing was this book!!! Dull, very slow & boring, and it kept repeating itself.

[Aneca · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Andrea di Robilant's father found a stash of letters in the old family Palazzo in Venice a journey of discovery began. The discovery of an 18th century doomed love affair between their ancestor Andrea Memmo and Giustiniana Wynne, a half English young woman.


This book is the compilation of those letters with di Robilants explanations and contextualisation of the period and the political incidents and social customs of the time. As a love story I must confess that reading some of the letters made me feel somewhat like a voyeur. The intimacy that they share was obviously for their eyes only, the letters were written in code by the way, and makes sense only to them.


But they do tell a lot more of Venetian society in the last decades of the Republic. Andrea and Giustiniana are of such different stations in society that a marriage between them is deemed impossible for most of the book and when considered is destroyed by rumours and revelations of the past. We realise that Venetian society was ruled by an old, unbreakable code that forbade marriages outside the oldest families for its sons and daughters, and that the old customs were maintained and enforced by a group of Inquisitors. The Republic also had strict rules about who was allowed to enter and reside in Venice not to mention that society eventually accepted or excluded the ones that were different or did not behave according to the norm.


To continue their affair the lovers plan was to marry Giustiniana off to some old man as married ladies had much more freedom of movements. That never happened and eventually Giustianiana leaves Venice but they never cease corresponding, maintaining their love and describing their lives. I found their life story a bit sad, they had to conform to the society they lived in and in doing so some of their actions are less than correct and certainly brought them no happiness. In the end, I felt that what stayed with me was the larger picture of Venice's story during the 18th century.


I found this an interesting story but better read as a work of nonfiction. It may be a bit too dry for historical fiction lovers.


Grade 4/5

[Carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel, based on recovered letters between young Venetian lovers, is an interesting illustration of the social and political nuances of eighteenth-century Europe - Venice in particular.
The lovers meet at the respective ages of 24 and 16...the girl is an "inappropriate" choice for a future political leader of Venice. Their relationship drives the plot, yet I couldn't muster sympathy for them. They were young, passionate, stubborn enough to take risks that would ruin their future...yet I was not able to buy into the depth of love that drove them to such lengths.
I recommend this for it's historical perspective alone (Casanova is a significant player), but not for the romance.

[Natasa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story line itself has some interesting bits but overall, the writing is very tedious. I continued to push on and read to the end in hopes it would improve - it didn’t.

[Jo Wheater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hated putting it down to go to work. Fascinating story

[Liviu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starts very interesting and making one turn the pages to see what happens with the star crossed lovers, but then it kind of peters out and the last third or so was more of a read through to finish the book than anything else. Overall okish but loses too much narrative energy as it goes

[Kate Forsyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is sub-titled 'A True Story of Impossible Love in the Eighteenth Century' and is an extraordinary account of two star-crossed lovers and their forbidden affair in the mid-eighteenth century. Andrea Memmo is a Venetian nobleman, and Giustiniana is a beautiful young girl from a family of dubious lineage (her father was an English lord, but her mother was a scandalous nobody who conceived Giustniana out of wedlock). It's a beguiling story, destined to end tragically, which weaves together the lovers' own letters with a narrative that sets their affair in context with the times and places. I was particulrly charmed by the character of Giustiniana, who ended up a countess and a novelist in her own right.

[Allie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The description on the back of the cover makes this book seem like it is written in novel form, but it is most definitely not. It reads more like someone is telling you a story and they forgot to leave out all of the minute, unimportant details. I only read about 50 pages, but the information in those pages could have been reduced to about three. Unless you have times to waste, don't read this book.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author's father found a stash of letters in the family's old Palazzo in Venice. The letters, written in 18th century Venice, detailed a forbidden romance between the author's ancestor--a Venetian nobleman and a half English beauty. This book provides rich detail about the history and mores that existed in the Venetian city/state during that period of time. A fascinating read.

[J. Eric Bermudez · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the words of Kris Jenner. "It's so weird and boring, but I'm obsessed."

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have romantic notions about the balls, the masques, the outings, the houses and the art of this period. We don't often consider how little personal freedom the the young nobles attending those balls in the ornate palaces had. Young people could not enjoy their youth. They had to navigate double standards set by society. How did they cope with the emotions and hormones of youth?

With power and money at stake, romantic love was considered indulgent and selfish. In Venice, matches needed not only parental approval, but also approval by the oligarchs. Blemishes on the reputation of a parent or grandparent diminished their progeny's value in the marriage market. The probability of a happy marriage was very low. Love, courtly love, was a dream of novels and songs, not for the children of dynasts.

The young people that come alive through the letters inherited by the Di Robilant family know they are fated. Unlike Romeo and Juliet, they accept their fate. They carry on and maintain a friendship through letters.

I felt very sorry for Guistiniana, who had NO social or emotional support for her feelings. In contrast Andrea had the love of his parents and the admiration of a society that allowed him to flirt and enjoy dalliances that were hurtful to Guistiniana. He seemed very cold at times for not acknowledging her risks. Mrs. Anna, never acknowledges her role in hindering her daughter's future.

While this book could have been much shorter, it was worthwhile. It paints a portrait of how the time's social mores played out in the lives of two teens as they become twentysomethings... and how they made a life for themselves.

I came to this after reading Lucia: A Venetian Life in the Age of Napoleon by the same author which describes the life and times of the next generation of the Memmo family. While "Affair" is good and I recommend it, I even more highly recommend "Lucia" for people who are interested in this period.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Venetian Affair by Andrea Di Robilant is one of those rare pieces of historical writing that reads like one of the great works of fiction. The book contains excerpts from the love letters exchanged between Andrea Memmo, a descendent of one of the founding fathers of Venice, and Giustiniana Wynne, whose background and claims to nobility were slightly questionable. Di Robilant uses the heart-wrenching love letters that were exchanged for over a decade as a foundation, and he fills in the details and the history surrounding the letters to create a masterful real-life love story.

The are moments where the book drags on, especially because many of Giustiniana’s love letters are repetitious. However, this is more the nature of the futileness of the relationship and the lack of actual events in between each weekly letter, rather than the fault of Di Robilant. There are mundane aspects to every person’s life, even clandestine lovers, and the book reflects that.

There are also moments where it would be helpful for Di Robilant to not only use the month and day as a reference point when he discusses events, but also the year. The reader may have to look back several chapters for the closest year notation, and count forward several from that point. This may mean that several seasons have passed, which can get a little tedious.

Overall, though, The Venetian Affair is an interesting tale of romance, politics, social class, and love in 18th-Century Venice. During that period, Venice was a society that was very attuned to the intrigue that can arise when these difference areas of life mix, and Di Robilant’s account of Andrea and Giustiniana provides a unique look into the results of such a love story.

[Virginia]

I would really give this book 2.5 stars. I choose this book to read on a trip to Venice. It worked well for being on vacation on that part of the world, but I wouldn't have loved it if I wasn't traveling there.
The other author does a great job with the materials as it's a true story and it's really interesting to read his family's connection to the story.
It was fun to read about the 18th century in Venice as it was the last hay-day before Napoleon invaded. The author talks fairly extensively about social life in Venetian which is fun to picture while walking the streets of Venice. My big issue was the letters themselves and the book features lots of direct translations. I found them a little trite and annoying. I would not want to read letters to anyone first love, that are full of phrases "Oh I love with all my soul, you are my soul..." It got tiresome. The lead characters do live interesting lives and do cover most of war torn Europe. Again a good read if you are on vacation.

[Valentina · Rating 4 out of 5]

What did not happen in Venice in the 18th century? This is the question we should ask. Everything went on in Venice often in secrecy and behind masks. A woman, an outsider, not well tied to powerful and antique families could not marry a nobleman, but she could have been his lover if she was married to someone else. The father of the author lived in Palazzo Mocenigo, in Venice, where he found love letters in the attic. They were from an English woman Giustiniana Wynne addressed to Andrea Memmo, a nobleman. Their love was forbidden, they met in secret through various vicissitudes. I found this story interesting; Casanova appears in the story as well, and the historical views are pretty good. I can’t consider it a Venetian romance, just a collection of love letters, at times very repetitive, especially Giustiniana’s letters.
This is not a book I will want to read twice, as it happened with many books I read about Venice in the same historic period, but it is still worth reading.

[Jessica Shepherd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was drawn into this book because I love the intimacy of written letters. The act of reading them almost feels forbidden, like peeking into someone's house, we see their private world normally shielded from view. Plus, it's practically a lost art nowadays. Anyhow... intrigue, drama, passion...this book has all the right ingredients for any love story, but it's better than fiction because it actually happened. The story is pieced together through love letters, many written by an accomplished authoress, and takes place against the historical backdrop of Venice, Italy, a most romantic city. If you love love, if you want to be absorbed into a different time and place and learn about the social customs of the day and daily life, this is a wonderful read.

[Liv Langille · Rating 2 out of 5]

did not finish because i got bored of the story and found it moved too slowly… i get it’s a true story but the minute details made it really hard to read despite the story’s bones being interesting. i mean forbidden love in the 1800s come on this is my thing and i still couldn’t finish it…

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on the surviving letters and deep archival research, this book is, at its heart, the story of a ill-fated love affair between the son of one of the oldest, most powerful families in Venice and the illegitimate daughter of a minor baronet from England and an Italian mother with a checkered past. The book includes extensive passages taken from the letters themselves, which convey the depth of the attraction between the two, but also reflect the reality that marriage was never a likely outcome for them. During the middle of the 18th century, when this affair takes place, marriage wasn't so much about love as it was about politics, power, and money, and this relationship was doomed in the face of that reality.

While the love story is interesting in its own way, to me this book is more effective as a glimpse into society and culture in Europe in the middle of the 18th century. Over the course of the book our heroine travels from Venice to Paris and London and back again, providing us with a glimpse into what Europe looked like at that time. It is a fascinating reminder about how much social and societal change has occurred in the intervening centuries.

[Linah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A love story in the city of love, this is a gripping true tale unearthed through a series of letters from the 18th century found in an old attic of a palazzo in Venice. The author's tracks his ancestors through these letters and the stories in their family, and in turn unfolds this love story.

I enjoyed reading this a lot. It was unlike anything I have ever read. I found it fascinating how the two stayed in love despite the years, the distance, and society. It wasn't simply puppy love as I initially believed, but a love that goes beyond obstacles and even marriage.

The other thing is this was a very unpredictable story with a lot of twists and turns and famous characters. One of them being Casanova. He wrote about this very love story in his memoirs.

I will say the ending was a bit abrupt as the story is based solely on the letters the author has. In some parts, you only get one side of the story because those are the only letters available. Despite that, the story is unlike any other and takes place across Italy, France, and England and paints an intriguing portrait of Europe during the mid-1700s.

The author attempts to wrap the story up in the end, but it felt like an afterthought. There's a lot more about the history of the time than there is about the characters involved in the story which in my perspective, is more interesting.

Overall, I would recommend this to anyone interested in not only historical fiction, but also romance novels, and Europe during the turmoils of the 18th century.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't think of anything as romantic as owning your own palazzo on the Grand Canal in Venice. But that is surpassed by finding a stash of love letters in the palazzo that partially chronicle a love affair between Venetian nobleman Andrea Memmo and half-English beauty , Giustiniana Wynne. That is just what the author's father did discover. The author generously sprinkles this book with excerpts from the letters and then fills in all the historical gaps so that we know the political, social, & cultural climates at the time the letters were written. How many ways can these two tell each other about their devotion? It seems endless! Sometimes the whining and complaining about their situation (they will never be accepted as a couple within their society) gets tiresome. But the backdrop of other characters such as Casanova and the British royalty keep your interest all the way through. There is a very interesting soap operatic twist in the middle of the book. It takes your breath away because of its veracity. Venice is as romantic as ever!

[Sheree · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high expectations for this book based on the glowing reviews but only finished the book through sheer stubbornness and the hope of seeing what other reviewers saw. I gave the book 1 star only because of the history lesson, the one palatable factor in this otherwise long, dry chew!
The reader learns (if they have the staying power) about 18th Century European life & the rigid social structure of the Venetian Republic. The highlight for me was the interactions between the protagonists and Giacoma Casanova.

Di Robilant makes his nonfiction debut with the true story of the forbidden love affair between of one of his ancestors, Venetian noble Andrea Memmo and 16 year old Giustiniana Wynne, based upon the letters passed between the two lovers. I found Andrea and Giustiniana to be narcisstic, fickle & duplicitous. Their casual faithlessness made their written declarations of 'undying love' and 'soul mate' ring hollow and the actual "love letters" were monotonous in the extreme.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was bored to tears by this one. It’s the nonfiction account of a love affair that took place in the 18th century in Venice. The author wrote the book after his father found a collection of letters between their ancestor, a Venetian nobleman, and a young woman. It started out strong and quickly pulled me in, but soon the story was bogged down with a nonstop back and forth.

The melodrama between the lovers, the restraints of their society and their different social classes made the whole thing impossible. I felt like the book could have been much shorter, but the author wanted to include every scrap of correspondence he had between the two.

BOTTOM LINE: The story is interesting because it’s nonfiction, but it should have been much shorter. What should be a fast-paced love story quickly became a tedious tug-of-war.

[KJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVED it! It was such a fun glimpse into the life of the wealthy and powerful in the 1700's in Italy. I love anything that shows the 'problems' of today are nothing new. If anything they seemed more risque back then then now! I would give examples but that will give away what happens in the book. It starts out slow but gains momentum. About 3/4 of the way through it suddenly hit me, "They are never going to be together!" and I felt so sad for them! At the end it sounds like they both lead very interesting lives and are okay, but their love affair is fascinating. It's fun when you recognize some of the names of famous statesmen/women and Casanova, etc.

[Ylenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uno specchio su una storia d'amore realmente vissuta nella Venezia del 1753.
Ho amato tutto, il romanticismo e il suo duro impatto contro una realtà che ostacola i sentimenti e li imbriglia nell'etichetta, nelle gerarchie sociali, nella forma che prevale sulla sostanza, li sottomette al prestigio e alla reputazione di una famiglia che prevarica sulla felicità dei suoi membri.
Per me è stata una storia commovente e delicata, a tratti anche cruda e meschina, ma la cosa che mi ha colpita di più è che è stata VERA, autentica, vissuta.
E' stato come spiare un diario segreto, vivere un pezzo della vita di questi Romeo e Giulietta veneziani. Super consigliato!!!

[Amanda Fucello · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was recommended this by a friend whom I trust as she has recommended a book I recently LOVED and could not put down. This one, however interested I was in it, just could not hold my attention. I t sounds interesting; its based on love letters discovered by the author of his great grandfather and his forbidden lover. Sounds great, right? It all takes place in 18th century Venice, where social customs are rigidly Victorian almost. Yeah, but no, this was super boring. I normally love historical novels or even just period fluff but this was inexcusably dull.

[Jesse Tango · Rating 5 out of 5]

read my first book by this author last year, and his ability to share this story in both a historical recount as well as a star-crossed lovers novel is so pretty. makes me want to visit Venice and explore all the places that were mentioned. reading this on the beach was so beautiful and i highly recommend!