Without sounding patronising ...this a wonderful piece with so many connotations not only about Venice and the Mask but perhaps about all of us as we age, either we lower the mask and become our true identity or at worst become the very mask that we created.
Also a fascinating 'potted' history of both the Mask and Venice, I particularily enjoyed the possible explanations of Carnival and Mardis Gras..I'd heard similar before but found these vague and disjointed, by reading all of your presentation and then relating this to your work in general I found a pattern arising possibly accidentaly between many of your novels and the relationship between comedy and tragedy, ggod and evil.

I also finished  'The Blue Demon' at the weekend and this has sent me deep into Roman and Etruscan history , once again with the help of Simon Baker's excellent Ancient Rome...whilst I await your future work.

The Blue Demon..your best yet, of course, but I say that at the end of every book. Thanks for more enjoyment than any TV show, it's great to have the grey matter tested and the feeling of wanting to know and find out more even when the last page is completed.