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The Siege Of Venice

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title The Siege Of Venice
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Jonathan Keates
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:528
Dimensions(mm): Height 198,Width 129
ISBN/Barcode 9780712673693
ClassificationsDewey:945.31083
Audience
General
Illustrations 16pp b/w plates

Publishing Details

Publisher Vintage
Imprint Pimlico
Publication Date 4 May 2006
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

A detailed, vivid and passionate account of the glory and sacrifice of Venice in 1848. Illuminating, exciting and profoundly moving. The siege of Venice in 1848 is one of history's most thrilling and tragic episodes. After half a century of Habsburg imperial rule, the Venetians drove out the occupying army and established their own republic. Led by the Jewish lawyer Daniele Manin, a man of immense courage and personal integrity, they embraced the lofty values of the Risorgimento, Italy's struggle for national unity, freedom and justice. When the Austrians returned with a massive army, intent on recapturing Venice, Manin rejected their surrender demands. The city braced itself for a siege lasting more than a year, ending only when bombardment, cholera and starvation made further resistance impossible.This epic story, in Jonathan Keates's gripping and meticulously-researched account, embraces the wider world of the revolutionary Italy of Garibaldi, Mazzini and Pope Pius IX, warrior priests, militant actresses, death-or-glory poets, a Mata Hari-type siren spy and a rebel princess. At the centre of the whole crowded canvas, however, stand the truest heroes of all - the people of Venice. Their grit, humour and endurance, under a hail of bombs and a tide of blood sweeping across their once peaceful lagoon, make The Siege of Venice a profoundly touching and unforgettable book.

Author Biography

Jonathan Keates is a prizewinning biographer and novelist, well known as a reviewer and as a writer on Italian culture and history. He teaches at the City of London School and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Reviews

Majestic... Tremendous -- Jan Morris * New Statesman * Enthralling... constantly gripping * Sunday Telegraph * A beautifully paced and meticulously detailed narrative... unlikely to be bettered -- John Adamson * Literary Review * Brilliant and profoundly researched -- Edward Pearce * Herald * A wonderfully vivid evocation of genuine heroism and pathos * Times Literary Supplement *