Venus with Pistol
| File:Gavin Lyall – Venus with Pistol.jpg 1991 UK paperback cover | |
| Author | Gavin Lyall |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Thriller novel |
| Publisher | Hodder & Stoughton |
Publication date | 1969 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 238 pgs |
| ISBN | 0-340-51580-5 |
| Preceded by | Shooting Script |
| Followed by | Blame the Dead |
Venus With Pistol is a first person narrative novel by English author Gavin Lyall, first published in 1969.
Plot introduction
Gilbert Kemp is dealer specializing in antique guns in London with a somewhat dubious background. He is approached by the mysterious Carlos MacGregor Garcia, a Nicaraguan and his employer, the very wealthy ex-professional tennis player Dona Margarita Umberto, who are traveling around Europe buy oil paintings to form a private collection which they allege will be donated to the Nicaraguan people. However, as many of the works are to be acquired from private collectors who do not wish the sale to be made public, and as many European governments would block the export of the historically valuable paintings, Kemp's services are needed in order to smuggle the paintings into Switzerland, from where they will be transported to Nicaragua in the diplomatic pouch.
It seems like a straight-forward matter of art smuggling until Kemp is mugged on arrival in Zurich, and a priceless Cezanne is stolen. On his next commission in Amsterdam, he helps obtain an un-catalogued work of Vincent van Gogh, but the art expert certifying the painting is soon brutally murdered. Things heat up in Venice and cumulate in Vienna where Kemp finally unravels the web of treachery and deceit that he has unwittingly stumbled into.
Explanation of Title
One of the artists mentioned towards the end of the novel is the Renaissance Venetian artist Giorgione, and the painting which is described in the novel is clearly based on his Sleeping Venus (Giorgione), now at the Dresden Musuem.
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