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Loading... Florence, a delicate case (edition 2002)by David Leavitt
Work InformationFlorence : a Delicate Case by David Leavitt
   No current Talk conversations about this book.   ) nkmunn | Nov 17, 2018 |   ) JayLivernois | Feb 4, 2017 |  ) JuliaBoechat | Mar 30, 2013 | ) preetalina | Mar 12, 2012 | Leavitt concentrates on the expatriate experience in Florence, particularly the expatriate homosexual experience, even more particularly the expatriate English homosexual experience, in the person of folks like Norman Douglas (author of South Wind), E.M. Forster and Ronald Firbank. He does not entirely neglect the ladies, however, noting that "the English ladies who have gone over to Catholicism . . . may be the loudest presence of all." Neither a guidebook nor a history book, though there is a touch of each, this book rather provides an atmosphere, a feeling about the city, from the point of view of one who is at one and the same time an insider and an outsider. It's full of delightful gossip, and one gets the sense that, like Alice Longworth Roosevelt, Leavitt thinks that "if you can't say something nice, come sit next to me." If nothing else, reading this book has confirmed me in my desire to visit Florence. 1  lilithcat | Dec 13, 2009 | no reviews | add a review
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Why has Florence always drawn so many English and American visitors? (At the turn of the century, the Anglo-American population numbered more than thirty thousand.) Why have men and women fleeing sex scandals traditionally settled here? What is it about Florence that has made it so fascinating--and so repellent--to artists and writers over the years? Moving fleetly between present and past and exploring characters both real and fictional, Leavitt's narrative limns the history of the foreign colony from its origins in the middle of the nineteenth century until its demise under Mussolini, and considers the appeal of Florence to figures as diverse as Tchaikovsky, E.M. Forster, Ronald Firbank, and Mary McCarthy. Lesser-known episodes in Florentine history--the moving of Michelangelo's David, and the construction of temporary bridges by black American soldiers in the wake of the Second World War--are contrasted with images of Florence today (its vast pizza parlors and tourist culture). Leavitt also examines the city's portrayal in such novels and films as A Room with a View, The Portrait of a Lady and Tea with Mussolini. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)945.51History and Geography Europe Italy and region Tuscany FlorenceLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (2.92)
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