The Stones of Florence and Venice Observed (Penguin Modern Classics) - Softcover

McCarthy, Mary

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141188219 ISBN 13: 9780141188218

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2006

Synopsis

The Stones of Florence and Venice Observed are wonderfully vivid and perceptive descriptions of two great Italian cities, told through their history and art, revealing Mary McCarthy to be one of literature's greatest travelling companions.

Here she depicts Florence through its tempestuous past, from the reign of the Medicis to Savonarola's bonfire of the vanities. Her account is dominated by the splendours of the Renaissance - the statues of Michelangelo and Donatello, the architecture of Brunelleschi, the paintings of Giotto and Botticelli - but she also shows Florence as a living city with a bustling street pageant of sounds and smells. A 'gold idol with clay feet', McCarthy's Venice is a city of illusion and spectacle, carnival and commerce, entrancing visitors with its grandeur and richness, its reflection glittering in the waters of the Adriatic.

About this title

Product Description:

Caution! No English version! Polish release.

About the Author:

Mary McCarthy (1912-89). As drama critic for the Partisan Review (1937-45), she gained a reputation for wit, intellect, and acerbity. Her novel The Oasis (1949) satirizes left-wing intellectuals, whereas The Group (1963) satirizes an entire generation. Her other novels include Cast a Cold Eye (1950), The Groves of Academe (1952), Birds of America (1971), and Cannibals and Missionaries (1979). Among her volumes of nonfiction are Venice Observed (1956), The Stones of Florence (1959), Vietnam (1967), The Mask of State: Watergate Portraits (1974), Ideas and the Novel (1980), and How I Grew (1987).

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0141188219
• ISBN 13: 9780141188218
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288