Pompeii Awakened: A Story of Rediscovery - Hardcover

Harris, Judith

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1845112415 ISBN 13: 9781845112417

Publisher: I.B.Tauris, 2007

Synopsis

On that fateful day in AD 79 the city of Pompeii was lost, and in time its location, its inhabitants and even its name were buried and forgotten. Not until 1748 did it emerge from its layer of volcanic rock, and the impact of that discovery was immediate and far-reaching. The evocative story of Pompeii's awakening lies not just in its uniquely preserved classical remains but also in the powerful impact it made on Western cultural imagination. Judith Harris brings the doomed city vibrantly to life. In her rich account of those who sifted through its artefacts, we read of Nelson, Napoleon and Mussolini. Of poets who sought melancholy fulfilment from Pompeii's shattered walls. Of tub-thumping Victorian preachers who likened it to Sodom and Gomorrah. And of the many others -- engineers and architects, artists and filmmakers -- for whom the city has never ceased to resonate. Harris has delved into ancient diaries and descended deep underground to assess the latest excavations. As the sleeping city re-awakens at her hands, Pompeii casts its spell once more, bewitching those who seek to unearth its buried secrets. Her website is: www.judith-harris.com

About this title

About the Author:

Judith Harris has, for 25 years, conducted a weekly radio broadcast on Italian culture - especially archaeology - for the Italian national network, RAI. She has also written for the Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine and The New Republic.

Review:

""A thrilling story, and a wonderful subject for a book. Judith Harris has done it full justice."" - John Julius Norwich ""Judith Harris skilfully interweaves the story of the town’s evacuation with the development of archaeology and insights into life in Roman times...The tale emerges from the pages as vibrantly as Pompeii does from the shroud of time."" - Italian “[An] entertaining account of the rediscovery of the buried city . . . offer[s] colorful and sometimes acute insights into the modern history of Pompeii” --Times Literary Supplement ""Harris treats her readers to insightful observations about the political, culutral, and economic backgrounds of the times, occasionally reminiscent of Barbara Tuchman in her grasp of historical context."" -- John Merrill, Biblical Archaeology Review

About this edition

• Publisher: I.B.Tauris
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1845112415
• ISBN 13: 9781845112417
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320