The Gilded Chalet: Off-Piste in Literary Switzerland - Rilegato

'With a sharp eye for detail and a historian's capacious knowledge, Padraig Rooney has written a superbly amusing guide to all the writers who've been drawn to or emerged from Switzerland.' --Edmund White, author of The Flâneur

'An enjoyable wander around literary Switzerland. The Gilded Chalet tracks the snow prints, shattered booze-glasses and missed spy drops of the likes of Rousseau, Byron, Hemingway and le Carré, sniffing the air of inspiration they found in the hills, huts and bars.' --Wanderlust

'Constantly engaging... and highly entertaining. Rooney is almost casually brilliant on Joyce, Nabokov and Mann, but revelatory on such as Durrenmatt and Frisch. He shows a deftness of touch but can, too, be powerful. A love letter to reading that does not shy away from the sins of reality.' --The Herald

'A gossipy feel [with a] touch of Clive James in its humour. What has Switzerland ever done for us? Quite a bit.' --Irish Mail on Sunday

'A lively and entertaining tour of literary Switzerland. Rooney has an eye for a telling anecdote. Informative and full of surprises, not least the portrait of Switzerland as a hotbed of literature and revolution.' --The Tablet

'A fascinating look behind the scenery at how Switzerland has influenced and affected some of the greatest authors and some of my favourite books.' --Diccon Bewes, author of Swiss Watching

'A fascinating account of how Switzerland has always provided something of a refuge for writers - from war, oppression, tuberculosis and even marriage - as well as an inspiration to them too.' --The Bookseller

PRAISE FOR PADRAIG ROONEY

'There is a mastery in his handling of prose-rhythm which I find exciting. It is in order for an ageing writer, in a valediction to Irish readers, to essay a prophecy about Irish letters. Mr. Rooney will be a credit to them.' --Anthony Burgess, author of A Clockwork Orange

Part detective work, part treasure chest, full of history and scandal, award-winning writer Padraig Rooney takes you on a grand tour of two centuries of great writing by both Swiss and foreign authors and shows how Switzerland has always been at the centre of literary Europe.