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Discovery
What happens when one of Manhattan's most glamorous couples makes a discovery beyond their wildest dreams - a discovery that transports them back into time, into the mysterious and sometimes dangerous passages of an ancient world?
The globe-trotting curators of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, Andrew and Olivia Foster - familiar to reader's of Thomas Hoving's first hit novel, Masterpiece - have it all.He's a charming rapscallion with a taste for practical jokes and a low tolerance for stodgy museum types. She's a woman with a sixth sense for spotting elusive art treasures, a woman as comfortable on a camel's back as in a Cadillac. Together, they thought they'd seen everything.
Then, on sabbatical in the golden hills surrounding Naples, the Fosters make the archaeological discovery of a lifetime, a discovery which changes their lives forever. Spurred on by the subtle machinations of Count Don Ciccio Nerone (the world's wiliest and most eccentric art collector and connoisseur), the Fosters, aided by an arsenal of high-tech archaeological tools, succeed in unearthing a discovery more intriguing that the Tomb of Tutankhamen or the Temple of Aphrodite.
For nearly two thousand years, the Palace of Tertullian, pride of the lost city of Herculaneum, buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, has remained undisturbed. Efforts to uncover its legendary treasures have lead to disappointment -and death.
The globe-trotting curators of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, Andrew and Olivia Foster - familiar to reader's of Thomas Hoving's first hit novel, Masterpiece - have it all.He's a charming rapscallion with a taste for practical jokes and a low tolerance for stodgy museum types. She's a woman with a sixth sense for spotting elusive art treasures, a woman as comfortable on a camel's back as in a Cadillac. Together, they thought they'd seen everything.
Then, on sabbatical in the golden hills surrounding Naples, the Fosters make the archaeological discovery of a lifetime, a discovery which changes their lives forever. Spurred on by the subtle machinations of Count Don Ciccio Nerone (the world's wiliest and most eccentric art collector and connoisseur), the Fosters, aided by an arsenal of high-tech archaeological tools, succeed in unearthing a discovery more intriguing that the Tomb of Tutankhamen or the Temple of Aphrodite.
For nearly two thousand years, the Palace of Tertullian, pride of the lost city of Herculaneum, buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, has remained undisturbed. Efforts to uncover its legendary treasures have lead to disappointment -and death.
301 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1989
18 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Hoving
67 books21 followersThomas Pearsall Field Hoving was an American museum executive and consultant, best known for serving as the Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
His books primarily focus on art-related subjects, including art forgeries, Grant Wood, Andrew Wyeth, Tutankhamen, and the 12th-century walrus ivory crucifix known as the Bury St. Edmunds Cross. His memoir, Making the Mummies Dance, details his years at the Met.
His books primarily focus on art-related subjects, including art forgeries, Grant Wood, Andrew Wyeth, Tutankhamen, and the 12th-century walrus ivory crucifix known as the Bury St. Edmunds Cross. His memoir, Making the Mummies Dance, details his years at the Met.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 29, 2017
Thomas Hoving's non-fiction books; Tutankhamun: The Untold Story, King of the Confessors, and Making the Mummies Dance: Inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, were well-written, interesting, and exciting to read. This book was none of those. The writing was sloppy and the dialog was unrealistic. Just an all around disappointment.
I went to signings when Hoving was selling his books and he was gracious and friendly to fans/readers. I appreciate an author who can make a book signing feel more like hanging out with a friend who likes to talk about books. Some of the others who stand out in my mind as being particularly personable are the late Louis L'Amour, Steve Hamilton, Jacquie D'Alessandro, and (believe it or not) Oliver North.
I went to signings when Hoving was selling his books and he was gracious and friendly to fans/readers. I appreciate an author who can make a book signing feel more like hanging out with a friend who likes to talk about books. Some of the others who stand out in my mind as being particularly personable are the late Louis L'Amour, Steve Hamilton, Jacquie D'Alessandro, and (believe it or not) Oliver North.
December 9, 2022
It's fun, and it's well written and interesting but after the first few chapters it just started to feel like nothing new was going to happen.... although then I skipped to the end, and it turned out to be an interesting theoretical conversation about an ancient Roman's meeting with Jesus so... it didn't make me feel compelled to finish it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews