A Thing of Beauty: Travels in Mythical and Modern Greece

(Paperback)

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Essential reading Helen Morales Fiennes is a brilliant and generous guide through GreeceObserver What do the Greek myths mean to us today Its now a golden age for these tales they crop up in novels, films and popular culture. But whats the modern relevance of Theseus, Hera and Pandora Were these stories ever meant for children And whats to be seen now at the places where heroes fought and gods once quarrelled Peter Fiennes travels to the sites of some of the most famous Greek myths, on the trail of hope, beauty and a new way of seeing what we have done to our world. Fiennes walks through landscapes stunning and spoiled on the trail of dancing activists and Arcadian shepherds, finds the most beautiful beach in Greece, consults the Oracle, and loses himself in the cities, remote villages and ruins of this storied land.

Reviews

Peter Fienness road trip around Greece engagingly described inA Thing of Beauty began with a visit to Lord Byrons house Fienness tough talk and his down-to-earth refusal to put up with pretentious silliness contributes a lot to the pleasure of the book [he] is well attuned to the ambivalence of hope.

-- Mary Beard, Times Literary Supplement

Fiennes is a brilliant and generous guidea must-read.

-- Alex Preston, Observer

This book is a lament for a poisoned planet He goes in search of the numinous but relishes the bathos of modernity not so much a travelogue as an excursion into the psyche of Anthropocene man.

* Literary Review *

A wonderful book by a wonderful writer.

-- Tom Holland

A wonderful really profound meditation on what it means to hope a gorgeous excursion into Greece and across the centuries on an environmental quest

* BBC Radio 4 Open Book BOOK OF THE YEAR choice by Anita Roy *
A Thing of Beautyis an immensely pleasurableread. It takes you on an adventure around Greece and the myths that the ancients told there. But what really stayed with me were the reflections on storytelling, joy, and hope. Essential reading for our pandemic and pollution ravaged times. -- Helen Morales, author of Antigone Rising: The Subversive Power of the Ancient Myths

Peter Fiennes has a way of making even the most serious of subjects enjoyable and riveting to the end, and A Thing of Beauty is certainly no exception, this is great travel writing that makes the reader a part of the adventure, and one of the most engaging and enjoyable books Ive read this year.

-- Pilgrim House

A deeply humane travelogue, a beautifully written book of stories, A Thing of Beauty is a siren song for Greece and a generous and precious gift a classical education for those of us who are bereft of one.

-- Patrick Barkham, natural history writer and author of Wild Child

Peter Fiennes follows in the footsteps of Pausanias, Lord Byron and others to rediscover some of the most evocative landscapes and sites from classical myth.

-- Argo

Fiennes is a brilliant and generous guide through Greece. He weaves the ancient world and the modern together with intelligence and elegance Theres a wry Sebaldian humour at work here A Thing of Beautyis a must-read for anyone visiting Greece.

-- Alex Preston, Observer

A Thing of Beautyis an entertaining, erudite travelogue through Greece, both ancient and modern.

* Foreword Reviews *

An evocative and informative book Its for anyone interested in theGreek Godsand their myths, the Greek countryside and wildlife, Greek politics and history, climate change and sustainable living, whether theres any hope in the world today and just how many Greek salads can one man eat If youre interested in more than one of those topics, its definitely the book for you.

* Greece Travel Secrets *

Fiennes sets out to explore the birthplace of Western civilization, Greece, in search of Hope Its a highly personal traveloguewith the historical and modern-day detail that late British travel writer Jan Morris might bring to the task.

-- Booklist, starred review

Passionate and lyrical

* Publishers Weekly *

Anenjoyablejourney through Greek myths and modernity in [Fienness] search for hope, beauty and new understanding of our world.

* Choice Magazine *

InA Thing of Beauty, myths are not presented as dust-covered artefacts but vibrant, living, often frightening things that, like Greek gods, still affect and manipulate our lives. The quest that Peter Fiennes undertakes is of urgent relevance in this time of environmental change. Startling, informative and often very funny.

-- Nick Hunt, author of Outlandish

Fiennes is a talent and an important voice. His search for hope in the stories of the past feels vital for these times.

-- Rob Cowen, author of Common Ground

A Thing of Beauty is such a joy. Peter Fiennes invites us to travel with him to visit the ancient Oracle at Delphi as he searches for hope while the pre-vaccine pandemic is at its height and the wild fires rage. Self-deprecating, funny, deeply knowledgeable about Greek mythology, yet simultaneously confronting the challenges that face our world head-on, Fiennes is a most delightful travelling companion.

-- Katharine Norbury, author of The Fish Ladder and editor of Women on Nature

Author Bio

Peter Fiennesis the author of the critically acclaimedFootnotes, Oak and Ash and Thorn, andTo War with God. As the publisher forTime Out, he nurtured a lifelong obsession with old guidebooks, creating award-winning city guides, walking books and titles about Britains countryside and seaside. He lives in south-west London.