The City of Light (Scarce Uncorrected Advance Proof of the Hoax that was never publsihed in the US))

D'Ancona, Jacob

ISBN 10: 0316173533 / ISBN 13: 9780316173537

Published by Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1997

About this Item

8vo., Wraps 359pp. Beautiful Unread Uncorrected Advance Proof of this purported travel diary of one Jacob d'Ancona that turned out to be hoax by British writer.Devid Selbourne who claimed that he translated the original manuscript though could never produce the document. Experts have since debunked the hoax though it had been already printed in the UK. Little, Brown in Boston was set to publish it in October of 1997 but pulled it at the last minute so this Proof was never published. Square, tight and clean throughout with little or no wear. A hint of a crease but barely. Fresh and bright with no chipping, tears or toning. Promotional newsletter laid in. A sharp collectable copy of a quite scarce item.

Seller Inventory # 013437

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The City of Light (Scarce Uncorrected Advance Proof of the Hoax that was never publsihed in the US))
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, Boston
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0316173533
• ISBN 13: 9780316173537
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Condition: Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Travel/Exploration

About this title

Synopsis

Two years before Marco Polo's celebrated voyage to China, another Italian, Jacob D'Ancona, set off on his own journey to the East. Jacob was well educated -- his grandfather was the rabbi of Florence -- and wrote down a candid account of his travels. But because some of his reflections could have been considered heretical by the inquisition, his heirs chose to keep the manuscript secret -- and so it remained for more than 700 years.In 1991, distinguished scholar and political philosopher David Selbourne at last gained access to Jacob's narrative and was granted permission to translate it. The result is The City of Light -- a riveting travel narrative and a momentous scholarly achievement.With an eye for detail and a sense of drama, Jacob brings to life his travels through Syria, the Persian Gulf, and India, vividly capturing the dangers that he faced and life in the far-flung Jewish communities that helped him on his way. But it is in his account of his final destination, the Chinese coastal metropolis of Zaitun, or the City of Light, that Jacob proves most incisive. Reporting on commerce, technology, street life, and social mores as well as his own involvement in the city's internal political battles, he takes us inside a surprisingly modern, multiethnic civilization in the years just before the Mongol conquest. For anyone interested in exotic travel, medieval history, or Jewish studies, The City of Light will be the year's most revelatory volume.