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Name: Amazon.com: The Shadow of Vesuvius: A Life of Pliny: 9781631496394: Dunn, Daisy: Books
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Rating: 4.4 (267 reviews)

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The Shadow of Vesuvius: A Life of Pliny Hardcover – Illustrated, December 10, 2019

by Daisy Dunn (Author)

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“A wonderfully rich, witty, insightful, and wide-ranging portrait of the two Plinys and their world.”―Sarah Bakewell, author of How to Live

When Pliny the Elder perished at Stabiae during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, he left behind an enormous compendium of knowledge, his thirty-seven-volume Natural History, and a teenaged nephew who revered him as a father. Grieving his loss, Pliny the Younger inherited the Elder’s notebooks―filled with pearls of wisdom―and his legacy. At its heart, The Shadow of Vesuvius is a literary biography of the younger man, who would grow up to become a lawyer, senator, poet, collector of villas, and chronicler of the Roman Empire from the dire days of terror under Emperor Domitian to the gentler times of Emperor Trajan. A biography that will appeal to lovers of Mary Beard books, it is also a moving narrative about the profound influence of a father figure on his adopted son. Interweaving the younger Pliny’s Letters with extracts from the Elder’s Natural History, Daisy Dunn paints a vivid, compellingly readable portrait of two of antiquity’s greatest minds.

8 illustrations

Editorial Reviews

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"The Shadow of Vesuvius is the definitive guide to Plinydom."
― Franz Lidz, New York Times

"If you were writing a biography of Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus―or Pliny the Younger, the author of one of the most famous collections of letters surviving from the early Roman Empire―it would be hard not to start with the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, on the Bay of Naples, in 79 A.D., for Pliny was the only writer to leave us an eyewitness account of the catastrophe. The English classicist Daisy Dunn… wisely does not resist the temptation… She succeed[s] in making Pliny [the Younger]…a poignant character, the kind of person who has to do the dirty jobs of an empire and, having done them, gets no compliments…. Neither Pliny knew that his homeland’s great mountain, Vesuvius, was nourishing in her bosom the extermination of so many of her people. This somehow makes the two men’s kinship closer."
― Joan Acocella, The New Yorker

"If only Daisy Dunn’s book had been around back when I was an aspiring classicist… Dunn is a good writer, with some of the easy erudition of Mary Beard, that great popularizer of Roman history, and her translations from both Plinys are graceful and precise. Ultimately her enthusiasm, together with her eye for the odd, surprising detail, wins you over."
― Charles McGrath, New York Times Book Review

"Only a writer as sure-footed as Ms. Dunn would even attempt such a challenge…. Her exploration of his life and times, and that of his uncle, has much to offer to readers, with its ground-up, kaleidoscopic view of a nine-decade span of Roman history."
― James Romm, Wall Street Journal

"A delightful biography, interweaving extracts from [Pliny the] Elder’s Natural History with [Pliny the] Younger’s letters, speeches, and poetry into an insightful portrait of the men, their world, and their influence on people such as Giorgio Vasari, Frances Bacon, and Percy and Mary Shelley.... This is a rich, entertaining dual biography of two fascinating men, a revealing portrait of ancient Rome, and a celebration of nature that will appeal to fans of Mary Beard."
― Merle Jacob, Booklist [starred review]

"Rather than provide us with merely a biography of a magistrate, Dunn gives us a portrait of an entire way of life…. Dunn also knows how to work a sentence. Without ever veering into historical fiction, she consistently succeeds in bringing what might otherwise seem dusty and remote to vivid life…. If there is much about Pliny’s world that she makes seem familiar, then there is just as much that she makes seem very strange….The result is a portrait of the Roman Empire that gives the reader something of the shiver down the spine that Herculaneum can inspire: a sense that we are as close to the vanished world of two millennia ago as we are ever likely to get."
― Literary Review (UK)

"Enthusiastic and vividly drawn.... An appreciation of both men, with frequent digressions on the Elder's opinions on oysters and metal scripture, the Younger's poetical ambitions and villas along Lake Como, and the effect of their dual legacy on future eras."
― Kathleen McCallister, Library Journal

"The Roman Empire comes to life through the biographies of two influential men.... [Dunn] creates a vivid tapestry of the Roman world.... A sensitive, spirited investigation of the ancient world."
― Kirkus Reviews

"[Sparks] impresses with her exceptional collection of wry, feminist stories.... Some stories smuggle incredible emotional impact into surprisingly few pages.... Sparks’s sardonic wit never distracts from her polished dismantling of everyday and extraordinary abuses. Readers will love this remarkable, deliciously caustic collection."
― Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Daisy Dunn is an award-winning author, classicist, and cultural critic based in London. She is a leading authority in her field and a regular commentator and columnist, writing for The Spectator and Literary Review. She is also the author of The Missing Thread: A Women's History of the Ancient World. Follow her on Instagram @daisydunnauthor.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Liveright; Illustrated edition (December 10, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1631496395
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1631496394
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.2 x 9.6 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #373,109 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #261 in Italian History (Books)
- #572 in Ancient Roman History (Books)
- #1,683 in Author Biographies

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Daisy Dunn

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Daisy Dunn is an award-winning classicist and biographer. Born in London, she read Classics at Oxford before gaining a scholarship to the Courtauld for an MA in the History of Art of the Italian Renaissance, and completing a doctorate in Classics and the History of Art at UCL. She writes for a number of newspapers and magazines and is editor of ARGO: A Hellenic Review. Her first books, Catullus’ Bedspread: The Life of Rome’s Most Erotic Poet and The Poems of Catullus: A New Translation, were published on both sides of the Atlantic in 2016. Her dual biography, In the Shadow of Vesuvius: A Life of Pliny, was an Editors' Choice in the New York Times in 2019. Her most recent book is Not Far From Brideshead: Oxford Between the Wars. She lives in London.

www.daisydunn.co.uk

Twitter: @Daisyfdunn

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Customers find the book well-researched and engaging, with one review noting it's full of fascinating details. Moreover, the writing style receives positive feedback, with one customer describing it as easy and sensitive. Additionally, customers appreciate the pacing, with one review highlighting the beautiful portrayal of the Plinys.

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20 customers mention "Information quality"20 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's information quality excellent, with one customer noting it is thoroughly researched and another mentioning it is full of fascinating details.

"...In fact, the younger Pliny wrote of the Elder, “he had a sharp intellect, incomparable concentration, and a formidable ability to stay awake.”..." Read more

"...While this is not strictly a history book, it provides information of some historical events, also providing the sociological context in which those..." Read more

"This is a magnificent biography of both Pliny the Elder and Younger...." Read more

"This is a terrific book and I devoured every little piece of information she revealed...." Read more

14 customers mention "Readability"14 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable, with one describing it as a joy to read.

"...A charming book, centered largely on the younger Pliny, “The Shadow of Vesuvius” sparkles with random factoids, from the source of the phrase “in a..." Read more

"...Light read, informative, and enjoyable." Read more

"...As a classicist I found much to enjoy and appreciate in this marvelous book...." Read more

"This is a terrific book and I devoured every little piece of information she revealed...." Read more

6 customers mention "Writing style"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, with one noting its easy and sensitive approach.

"...But it’s a well-written, illuminating, enjoyable card enthusiastically recommended." Read more

"...The author did a good job to also be able to present Pliny the Elder's thoughts and beliefs in the book, using the little surviving information and..." Read more

"...Her style is easy and sensitive...." Read more

"This is a wonderfully written book, full of fascinating details. It has been a joy to read, page by page. Excellent addition to my library...." Read more

3 customers mention "Pacing"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the pacing of the book, with one noting it features fascinating figures and another mentioning their love for the Plinys.

"...in antiquity will enjoy being reintroduced to these two fascinating figures...." Read more

"beautifully and sensitively written..." Read more

"You will love the Plinys!..." Read more

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VerbRiver
Good and Pliny
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2020
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If “The Shadow of Vesuvius” were a movie up for an Oscar, Pliny the Elder would be nominated for best supporting actor. His nephew, Pliny, would win Best Actor. Such are their relative roles featured in this combined biography.

The two had much in common. Pliny the Elder was tormented thinking about “the injustice of being forgotten.” Pliny, according to author Daisy Dunn, believed “a man is happiest when he can be confident his name will live forever.” Both worked hard enough to make Pliny’s happy wish come true, producing work still in print; the Elder’s encyclopedic “Natural History,” and Pliny ‘s Letters.

Both men boiled with a ferocious work ethic driving themselves to work endless hours. In fact, the younger Pliny wrote of the Elder, “he had a sharp intellect, incomparable concentration, and a formidable ability to stay awake.”

The Elder was unquenchably curious, the trait that got him killed by the volcano. The younger Pliny, aside from his work as a lawyer, senator, and public official was, at heart, a speechwriter/orator, described as one who believed “his reputation depended upon what people remembered of his speeches.” To that end, quoting Virgil, he wouldn’t even mind (or so he wrote to an admired friend) being recalled as “second best but by a long way.” (One doubts it.)

A charming book, centered largely on the younger Pliny, “The Shadow of Vesuvius” sparkles with random factoids, from the source of the phrase “in a nutshell,” to the possible origin of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” These small digressions feed rather than impede the narrative.

Compared to the voluminous work left behind by the Pliny’s, this book is but an index card of their lives. But it’s a well-written, illuminating, enjoyable card enthusiastically recommended.

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GPO
Good story of the "Lives" of both Plinys
Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2023
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This book is an interesting combination of the lives of Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger using the eruption of the Vesuvius as the starting point of the book, where Pliny the Elder dies, while Pliny the Younger survives and starts his adult life.

The main focus of the book is to tell the life of Pliny the Younger, from which the author drew mostly from the many surviving letters written during his lifetime. This is not presented as a chronological list of events, but as a combination of events and how his daily life went, both in his work and at his home away from Rome. While this is not strictly a history book, it provides information of some historical events, also providing the sociological context in which those events ocurred, but on a very local scale.

The author did a good job to also be able to present Pliny the Elder's thoughts and beliefs in the book, using the little surviving information and what can be read in his surviving works. The connecting point between both men's lifes is presented by their family ties and the admiration the Younger had for the Elder.

The only difficult part of the book is keeping track on which Pliny the author is talking about. The Elder is always referenced using that "Last Name", but it's easy to get lost with the names.

Light read, informative, and enjoyable.

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Stephen Laruccia
beautifully and sensitively written
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2020
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This is a magnificent biography of both Pliny the Elder and Younger. It begins with the eruption of Vesuvius and Pliny the Elder's heroic attempts at rescue. Pliny the Younger chose to stay at his uncle's villa, but his memory of this event is dramatically told in his letters to the historian Tacitus. It was something he could never forget nor can we.
Daisy Dunn explores thoroughly this era of early imperial Rome and the reception both Plinies received during the Renaissance. Her style is easy and sensitive. Her insights into Roman life in the first and second centuries are valuable in their own right buttressed by citation of the Natural History and Pliny the Younger's Letters and speeches.
As a classicist I found much to enjoy and appreciate in this marvelous book. We learn of Regulus, Tacitus, Domitian and Trajan, the marvelous landscape of northern Italy especially Comum, the flora of the region, the floating islands of Lake Vardamon.
For anyone wishing to learn more about this period, Daisy Dunn's The Shadow of Vesuvius is a must read.

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8 people found this helpful

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Virginia A. McConnell
You will love the Plinys!
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2020
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This is a terrific book and I devoured every little piece of information she revealed. In preparation for a trip last fall to Pompeii and the surrounding towns affected by Vesuvius, I had read Pliny the Younger's letters, then when I returned, began his uncle's Natural History. So I was already enamored of the Plinys when I discovered this book. What the author has done with the material is nothing short of magical: She has taken what we can know of the two men through their works and interwoven them in such a way that the reader - well, this one, anyway - thinks of them as living at the same time (although the uncle died in 79 A.D. when the nephew was 17) in their various villas and other locales. Dunn has managed to present the personalities of two men who lived in the first century A.D. in such a way that you will feel you not only know them, but wish you could hang out with them. Thank you, Daisy Dunn, for this wonderful book!

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Fernando Villegas
Not Bad, But not Exceptional Either
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2020
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If you, for any reason, is intereted in the life of a second rate personage of first century of the Roman empire, a letter writer that shed some light in the uses of high circles, then this book is OK; If you do not know nothing about first century roman history, it could be of some but limited use too. If any of those conditions are not accomplished, then there is not reason at all to read it. Sometimes you anyway read a book of a period you know well in order to get another insight OR to enjoy a charming writting style, as it happens with missed Mr Nortwich, but this is not the case here. Some enthusiastic critics has said that miss Daisy writes "beautifully", but it is a judgement somehat beyond the pale. She writes good enough, but not "beatifully" Her writting is mostly clear and to the point, but sometimes boring and always lacking humor and originality.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Good and Pliny

4.0 out of 5 stars Good story of the "Lives" of both Plinys

5.0 out of 5 stars beautifully and sensitively written

5.0 out of 5 stars You will love the Plinys!

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Bad, But not Exceptional Either

Good and Pliny

Good story of the "Lives" of both Plinys

beautifully and sensitively written

You will love the Plinys!

Not Bad, But not Exceptional Either