Rising up from the heart of the Mediterranean, Sicily has a rich and ancient history spanning over 2,000 years. A bounty prized by invaders from the Greeks, Romans and Vandals to the Byzantines, Arabs and Normans, Sicily's violently beautiful landscapes are haunted by a vibrant mix of cultures and her soil has always been fertile ground for the literary and artistic imagination.
This compelling guide uncovers the island's multi-faceted personality through those literary figures who have managed to get under her skin - from Pindar, Cicero and Aeschylus to Shakespeare and Cervantes; DH Lawrence, Coleridge and Oscar Wilde to Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, Ezra Pound and Lawrence Durrell; as well as local writers who have defined the modern Italian novel - Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and Leonardo Sciascia. Through their words and lives we witness the beauty, pain and power of the Sicilian cultural landscape and discover how the potent mix of influences on the island's society has been preserved forever in literature.
By:
Andrew Edwards,
Suzanne Edwards
Imprint: Bloomsbury
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 198mm,
Width: 129mm,
Weight: 362g
ISBN: 9781838601829
ISBN 10: 1838601821
Series: Literary Guides for Travellers
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 03 May 2022
Audience:
General/trade
,
Professional and scholarly
,
ELT Advanced
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Map Introduction 1 Palermo and Surroundings: Peeling the Onion 2 The Tyrrhenian Coast: Castles in the Air 3 Messina, Taormina and the North-East Coast: A Playground for the Literati 4 Catania and Mount Etna: Under the Shadow of the Volcano 5 Syracuse and the South-East: The Sybaritic South 6 Agrigento and the South Coast: Sulphur Spirits and Greek Temples 7 Enna and the Interior: Sicily’s Bread Basket 8 Trapani and the West: Salt, Wine and the Misty Goddess Author Profiles Chronology Select Bibliography Index
Andrew Edwards is writer and the translator of two books set in Sicily by the Spanish author Alejandro Luque. Suzanne Edwards is a linguistics graduate and lecturer. Between them, they have written widely on Sicily, its food, culture and literature.
Reviews for Sicily: A Literary Guide for Travellers
a wonderful text on the literary diversity of the island -- Giles Foden * Conde Nast Traveller * Sicily: A Literary Guide for Travellers takes you into Sicily's real personality, with fascinating insights into the character, history and culture of this enigmatic island. And it's also one hell of a reading list! * Sicily Inside & Out *
