Paradise of Cities by John Julius Norwich

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Paradise of Cities

Name: Paradise of Cities
Price: 16.00 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: John Julius Norwich
ISBN: 9781400032372

Paperback $16.00

Published on Nov 09, 2004 | 400 Pages

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$16.00

Published on Nov 09, 2004 | 400 Pages

Buy from Other Retailers:

John Julius Norwich’s A History of Venice has been dubbed “indispensable” by none other than Jan Morris. Now, in his second book on the city once known as La Serenissima, Norwich advances the story in this elegant chronicle of a hundred years of Venice’s highs and lows, from its ignominious capture by Napoleon in 1797 to the dawn of the 20th century.

An obligatory stop on the Grand Tour for any cultured Englishman (and, later, Americans), Venice limped into the 19th century–first under the yoke of France, then as an outpost of the Austrian Hapsburgs, stripped of riches yet indelibly the most ravishing city in Italy. Even when subsumed into a unified Italy in 1866, it remained a magnet for aesthetes of all stripes–subject or setting of books by Ruskin and James, a muse to poets and musicians, in its way the most gracious courtesan of all European cities. By refracting images of Venice through the visits of such extravagant (and sometimes debauched) artists as Lord Byron, Richard Wagner, and the inimitable Baron Corvo, Norwich conjures visions of paradise on a lagoon, as enduring as brick and as elusive as the tides.

“Engaging. . . . Lively. . . . Norwich is an enchanting and satisfying raconteur.” –The Washington Post

“A richly textured, colorfully told saga. . . . Beautifully illustrated, Paradise of Cities contains much that will instruct, divert and delight.” –Los Angeles Times

“Personable. . . . Hovers delightfully between history and gossip. . . . Even non-Venetians will feel a tug of nostalgia for the world he describes.” –Newsday

“Lively. . . . Norwich . . . is certainly the English language’s most passionate and dedicated chronicler of [Venice’s] extraordinary history. . . . Paradise of Cities offers delicious new insights [and] open[s] a door to one of the world’s most memorable cities.” –The Seattle Times

“Suavely presented. . . . Appealing. . . . Full of relishable moments. . . . Paradise of Cities shows a sharp eye for the curious and entertaining. . . . It lights up many facets of expatriate life in the world’s most inexhaustibly alluring city.” –The Sunday Times (London)

“Illuminating. . . . Norwich is a historian of uncommon urbanity: scholarly and erudite but never pedantic. His style is as graceful and easy as it is knowledgeable.” –Los Angeles Times

“Stylish, resonant, indelible . . . an ode to a very splendid and unique city.” –Booklist (starred and boxed review)

“Supremely readable and often witty.” –The Guardian

“First-rate. . . . Lovely. . . . Engaging. . . . Informed by first rate scholarship and leavened with deep affection. . . . The subject is wonderfully rich, the chronicler gifted and knowledgeable.” –Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Engaging. . . . Makes intelligent sense out of how Venice evolved from the pleasure capital of 17th- and 18th-century Europe . . . into a 21st-century aesthetic temple.” –Financial Times

Author

John Julius Norwich

John Julius Norwich was the author of more than twenty books, including the New York Times bestseller Absolute Monarchs. He began his career in the British foreign service, but resigned his diplomatic post to become a writer. He was a chairman of the Venice in Peril Fund and the honorary chairman of the World Monuments Fund. John Julius Norwich died in 2018.

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Paradise of Cities

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By John Julius Norwich