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The Mint
In 1922, his dreams of an independent Arabia shattered, T.E. Lawrence enlisted in the RAF under the assumed name John Hume Ross. Though methodical and restrictive, life there seemed to suit Lawrence: "The Air Force is not a man-crushing humiliating slavery, all its days. There is sun & decent treatment, and a very real measure of happiness, to those who do not look forward or back." With poetic clarity, Lawrence brings to life the harsh realities of barracks life and illuminates the strange twilight world he had slipped into after his war experiences. For anyone interested in the life of one of the 20th century's most enduring heroes and his life beyond the well-documented Arab revolt, The Mint is essential and compelling reading.
English Hours
'Spring was already in the air, in the town; there was no rain but there was still less sun - one wondered what had become of it, on this side of the world - and the grey mildness, shading away into black at any pretext, appeared in itself a promise.' Henry James left America for England in 1876 and remained in his adopted country for the next three decades. Arriving in Liverpool, he made his way first to London, the 'dreadful, delightful city', which he would come to both love and hate. James revelled in the exoticism and immensity of all that was unknown to him and his writing spills over with youthful excitement, humour and vivid descriptions of the people, landscapes, towns and cities he...
A Traveler's History of Cote D'Azur
Cote d¿Azur, as we know it today¿frequented by yachts and film stars¿is primarily a product of the last 150 years, but the historical impact of its central location dates back more than 2,500 years. Its geographic position and many natural harbors on the north side of the Mediterranean made it a stopover for early seafaring people like the Greeks; a natural extension of the Roman Empire; a target and base for Saracen raiders; and a place where the ambitions of French, Spanish and Italian kings and princes came into conflict. More recently it has been a destination for tourists, retirees and seekers of improved health, and a landing place for the invasion of France by the Allied armies in the Second World War. This book begins with Cote d¿Azur¿s early days and moves through to the present in a comprehensive, but concise, easily readable form that should help travelers relate what they are seeing today to what it was before. It is as historically factual as readily available data permits and tries to emphasize history that relates to what we see today.
The Tangier Diaries
Tangier in the 1960s and '70s was a fabled place. This edge city, the 'Interzone', became muse and escapist's dream for artists, writers, millionaires and socialites, who wrote, painted, partied and experienced life with an intensity and freedom that they never could back home. Into this louche and cosmopolitan world came John Hopkins, a young writer who became a part of the bohemian Tangier crowd with its core of Beats that included William Burroughs, Paul and Jane Bowles and Brion Gysin, as well as Tennessee Williams, Jean Genet, Yves Saint Laurent, Barbara Hutton and Malcolm Forbes. Those intoxicating decades - Tangier's 'Golden Years' - are long gone. Grand old houses that once sparkled with life are shuttered and dark and most of the eccentrics who once lived and loved in the city have died. But here, in the pages of John Hopkins' cult classic, all the decadence and flamboyance of those days is brought to life once more.
In the Shadow of Vesuvius
The definitive companion for anyone seeking to delve beneath the surface of Naples. Naples is an Italian city like no other. Drama and darkness are often associated with the city, which rests beneath active Mount Vesuvius and is the home of the Camorra - its version of the mafia. But beyond this, Naples reveals itself to be one of the most historically and culturally vibrant cities in Europe. From its origins in Homer's Odyssey and its founding nearly 3,000 years ago, Naples has long attracted travellers, artists and foreign rulers - from the visitors of The Grand Tour to Goethe, Nelson, Dickens and Neruda. The stunning beauty of its natural setting coupled with the charms of its colourful past and lively present - from the ruins of Pompeii to the glittering performances of the San Carlo opera house - continue to seduce all those who explore Naples today. In the Shadow of Vesuvius is a sparkling portrait of the city - the definitive companion for anyone seeking to delve beneath its surface.
Italian Journeys
When Abraham Lincoln appointed William Dean Howells Consul to Venice, the young writer embarked on a journey that would leave an indelible impression on his life and work. Howells lived in Italy for four years, from 1861, during the pivotal and tumultuous period of Italian reunification. Italian Journeys, Howell's engrossing memoir of this time, describes his adventures across the country. He travelled from Genoa, a hotbed of nationalistic fervour and the city from which Garibaldi had led the Expedition of the Thousand only a year before, to the cultural and political powerhouse of Naples, which had only just become part of the Kingdom of Italy, and from there to Rome, focus for the hopes of a fractured country. Travelling by land and sea, Howells was inspired at every turn - as much by the fevered events of the time as by the cultural and historical wealth of the country - and his beautifully rendered portrait has become a classic of travel literature, essential for all those who, like him, have loved Italy.
Virgil
Peter Levi teases a remarkably vivid life from Virgil's poems, a life-long study of poetry and the few facts that have come down to us through Suetonius. Born in 70 BC, in a small village near Mantua, Publius Vergilius Maro - Virgil - grew up to be hailed as the greatest Roman poet. And although his work has influenced Western literature for two millennia, little is known about the man himself. Who was the man who created The Aeneid - one of the most important poems in Western literature - and such universal phrases as 'love conquers all' and 'fortune favours the bold'? In this highly acclaimed, now classic biography, the eminent classicist Peter Levi uses Virgil's poems, like the Eclogues, ...
The South American Diaries
While writing a novel set in South America, John Hopkins travelled back there to "reacquaint himself with the scene". In 1972-3, he travelled by train, bus and boat from Mexico City to the centre of the continent, through Belize, Guatemala and Nicaragua and on to Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. Hopkins travelled slowly, deliberately, savouring every experience along the way. But the journey was fraught with his angst-ridden strivings to write his novel and with the troubled love he had for Madeleine, his travelling companion. In these heat-scorched, tequila-infused pages, Hopkins paints a sultry, exquisite portrait of South America and in so doing masters an art that he believed would forever elude him.
Queen Victoria
Lytton Strachey's acclaimed portrayal of Queen Victoria revolutionised the art of biography by using elements of romantic fiction and melodrama to create a warm, humorous and very human portrait of this iconic figure. We see Victoria as a strong-willed child with a famous temper, as the eighteen-year-old girl queen, as a monarch, wife, mother and widow. Equally fascinating are the depictions of her relationships: with her governess, 'precious Lehzen', with Peel, Gladstone and Disraeli, with her beloved Albert and, in later life, her legendary devotion to her Highland servant John Brown, all of which show a different side of the staid, pious image that is so often attached to her. Awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, Strachey's classic biography remains one of the best and most readable accounts of the Queen who defined an era.
Syracuse, City of Legends
Dubbed 'the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all' by Cicero, Syracuse also boasts the richest history of anywhere in Sicily. Syracuse, City of Legends - the first modern historical guide to the city - explores Syracuse's place within the island and the wider Mediterranean and reveals why it continues to captivate visitors today, more than two and a half millennia after its foundation. Over its long and colourful life, Syracuse has been home to many creative figures, including Archimedes, the greatest mathematician of the ancient world, as well as host to Plato, Scipio Africanus, conqueror of Hannibal, and Caravaggio, who have all contributed to the rich history and atmosphe...
