The Venetians, Paul Strathern
The Venetians, Paul Strathern
List: $17.99 | Sale: $12.59
Club: $8.99

The Venetians
A New History: From Marco Polo to Casanova

Author: Paul Strathern

Narrator: Derek Perkins

Unabridged: 13 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 01/29/2014


Synopsis

The Republic of Venice was the first great economic, cultural, and naval power of the modern Western world.

After winning the struggle for ascendency in the late 13th century, the Republic enjoyed centuries of unprecedented glory and built a trading empire which at its apogee reached as far afield as China, Syria, and West Africa. This golden period only drew to an end with the Republic's eventual surrender to Napoleon.

The Venetians illuminates the character of the Republic during these illustrious years by shining a light on some of the most celebrated personalities of European history—Petrarch, Marco Polo, Galileo, Titian, Vivaldi, and Casanova. Frequently, though, these emblems of the city found themselves at odds with the Venetian authorities, who prized stability above all else, and were notoriously suspicious of any "cult of personality." Was this very tension perhaps the engine for the Republic's unprecedented rise?

Rich with biographies of some of the most exalted characters who have ever lived, The Venetians is a refreshing and authoritative new look at the history of the most evocative of city-states.

About Paul Strathern

Paul Strathern is a Somerset Maugham Prize-winning novelist and the author of many nonfiction titles, including The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior; Napoleon in Egypt; and Mendeleyev's Dream, which was short-listed for the Aventis Prize. Paul lives in England.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Melisende on January 10, 2014

A nice study of the high and low points in Venetian history. There is a focus on Venice's rise and fall as a maritime power in the Mediterranean; her political relations with the other sea-states of Italy, especially Genoa, and with the enemies of Christendom, the Ottomans. There is an illuminating......more

Goodreads review by Aleksandar on March 13, 2022

Who could visit Venice and not fall in love with it? Its picturesque canals, gondolas, and slanting buildings can warm the heart of even the most indifferent traveler. But there’s more to it than meets the eye. The Venetians by Paul Strathern offers a brief overview of the main events and individual......more

Goodreads review by Zeb on February 08, 2014

The Venetians Though the secondary name says it all, this is a view of the 1,000 year “Republic of Venice” seen through the lives of some of its’ most glorious sons and daughters. It’s a different style history and Paul Strathern makes it work to perfection. By giving us the backgrounds of the lead “......more