I'm so thrilled and honoured to have Janet Todd on the blog today to delight us with an excerpt from her new novel, A Man of Genius . I've long been an admirer of Janet's non-fiction books on Jane Austen, though she's also known for her feminist works on Mary Wollstonecraft and Aphra Benn. Janet i s very kindly giving away a copy of her new book A Man of Genius , which has been described by Sarah Dunant as 'A quirky, darkly mischievous novel about love, obsession and the burden of charisma, played out against the backdrop of Venice's watery, decadent glory', and by Philippa Gregory as ' Strange and haunting, a gothic novel with a modern consciousness.' All you have to do to for a chance to win is answer the question, "Would you rather meet Jane Austen or Lord Byron?" Please leave your answer in a comment at the bottom of the post. The book is very generously being offered internationally, and the competition will be ...