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Venice: The Most Triumphant City

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The Most Triumphant City George The Most Triumphant City The Folio Society FIRST First Edition, First Printing. Not price-clipped. Published by The Folio Society, 1981. Octavo. Hardcover. Book is very good with bookplate on opposite page ends on half title page. 100% positive feedback. 30 day money back guarantee. NEXT DAY SHIPPING! Excellent customer service. Please email with any questions. All books packed carefully and ship with free delivery confirmation/tracking. All books come with free bookmarks. Ships from Sag Harbor, New York. Seller 316963 History We Buy Books! Collections - Libraries - Estates - Individual Titles. Message us if you have books to sell!

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

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About the author

George Bull

79 books3 followers
Bull was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1981 and a Vice-President of the British-Italian Society in 1994.
He was awarded an OBE in 1990. George Bull was made Knight Commander of the Order of St Gregory in 1999, and was awarded the order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold rays with Neck Ribbon (Japan) in 1999.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Profile Image for Jeanne.
625 reviews106 followers
June 28, 2016
I feel like if I knew more about Venice I would enjoy this a lot more.

Alas, this was my introduction to the city and Italian history is general. To say the least, this was not a good book to start with as I couldn't even finish it. I made it about 60% of the way through and absorbed very little information, aside from the fact that the author mentions the city's 'virginity' way too much.

The author tells the history of Venice through its images presented in literature throughout the years. The concept seemed interesting at first but soon I found it confusing more than anything. We're not really given the reasoning behind why each piece is selected nor is there any real transition between pieces. And for a book that is meant to look at the history of Venice the most chronological that the book gets is having each chapter focus on a different century.

So overall, not an enjoyable read for someone who knows little about the topic despite the blurb on the back.
Profile Image for Jeremy Walton.
459 reviews1 follower
January 15, 2025
Nice historical collection
I found this in an Oxfam bookshop shortly before we went to Venice for a few days. It's a nice account of the history of the city, mostly assembled from extracts by other authors. George Bull is probably best-known for his work as a translator with Penguin Classics (in particular, he was responsible for Machiavelli's The Prince and Vasari's Lives Of The Artists), so he knows his way around the language and the history. He apologises in the introduction for "yet another book about Venice", perhaps remembering Henry James' observation that it was impossible to find anything new to say on the subject. But this limitation can also be liberating, as the writer is freed to follow an idiosyncratic path through the story of the city. That's what this book does, and I found it a pleasant companion (particularly in this handsome Folio Society edition) during my visit.

Originally reviewed 8 October 2008
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews

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