I’m going to start posting photos and other images of locations from Ascension, for those who want a clearer view of the novel’s setting. I’ll start with a painting by Turner of Venice as seen from Fusina. This is the setting of the first chapter of the novel: it was here that travellers began their journey across the lagoon to the city and it’s here that Alvise’s adventure begins. Turner’s painting dates from 1821, but the scene probably hadn’t changed much from 1749, when the novel is set. Turner’s painting was created 25 years before the railway across the lagoon was inaugurated, which turned Venice into an ex-island.