Vesuvius: The most famous Volcano in the World. First Printing

Darley, Gillian

ISBN 10: 1846683173 / ISBN 13: 9781846683176

Published by London. Profile Books Ltd, 2011

About this Item

London. Profile Books Ltd. 2011. Hard Cover. First Edition/First Printing. (1 in number line on copyright page). Black cloth boards with gilt titles. A title in the Wonders of the World Series. Both book and unclipped jacket are fine/as new. Monochrome plates and illustrations in the text. The cataclysm that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum in AD 79 continues to fascinate nearly two thousand years later. Darley s meditation on a powerful natural wonder touches on pagan beliefs, vulcanology, and travel writing, as it sifts through the ashes of Vesuvius to expose changes in our understanding of cultural and natural environments.

Seller Inventory # FEB05015

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Vesuvius: The most famous Volcano in the World. First Printing
• Publisher: London. Profile Books Ltd
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1846683173
• ISBN 13: 9781846683176
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: As New
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • geography, history

About this title

Synopsis

Vesuvius, nestled over the Bay of Naples, is (still) the most famous volcano in the world. There have been nearly thirty major eruptions since AD 79, but none has matched the cataclysm of the eruption which destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum within hours. Since then Vesuvius has been speculated upon, feared, and celebrated by writers and artists and hordes of visitors. It is unquestionably a Wonder of the World. For Greeks and Romans Vesuvius was a fearsome sacred place. Spartacus launched his slave rebellion from its crater. The Enlightenment brought the serious study of the phenomenon of volcanic activity. Its famous visitors included Goethe and Mozart, Byron and the Shelleys, Madame de Stael and Lady Hamilton. Painters popular and serious (from Wright of Derby to Andy Warhol) made its exploding or dormant outline an instantly recognisable icon. Vesuvius has remained a focus for tourism and modern life. At the last big eruption in 1944 the Allied forces assumed they were witnessing the detonation of an immense bomb. Rampant modern development means that millions could be at risk when it next erupts. As Dickens said, Vesuvius is 'the genius of the scene...biding its terrible time'.

About the Author

Gillian Darley writes widely in the arts media, mostly about architecture and landscape. She is the author of two acclaimed biographies, both shortlisted for the James Tait Black Prize for Biography - of John Evelyn and John Soane. She lives in London.