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The Roundtable

Donna Leon pens essay collection "Backstage: Stories of a Writing Life"

By Joe Donahue
Published August 29, 2025 at 11:08 AM EDT

Donna Leon’s memoir, "Wandering through Life," gave her fans a colorful tour through her life, from childhood in New Jersey to adventures in China and Iran, to her love of Venice and opera. Nowhere, however, did she discuss her writing life.

Now in her new collection of essays "BACKSTAGE: Stories of a Writing Life," Donna reveals her admiration for, and inspiration from, the great crime novelists Ruth Rendell and Ross Macdonald, examining their approach to storytelling as she dissects her favorite books of theirs.

She expresses her love for Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations and her appreciation for Sir Walter Scott’s generosity of spirit. And she chronicles the amount of research she undertakes to be able to present her characters and work authentically. It is a pleasure to welcome Donna Leon to the RT.

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Joe Donahue
Joe talks to people on the radio for a living. In addition to countless impressive human "gets" - he has talked to a lot of Muppets. Joe grew up in Philadelphia, has been on the area airwaves for more than 25 years and currently lives in Washington County, NY with his wife, Kelly, and their dog, Brady. And yes, he reads every single book.
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