Three rich young Englishmen cross pre-World War II Europe in an old car with a mixture of laugh-out-loud humor and perceptive commentary on art and architecture Turning a corner we suddenly found ourselves sliding down a precipice, tilted so far forward that it was necessary to hold ourselves back with our hands pressed against the dashboard, as half a dozen Apennine valleys beckoned invitingly below. Here [St Peter' s] Popes with black faces and golden crowns are wallowing twice life-size in the titanic folds of marble tablecloths, their ormolu fringes festooning upon the arms of graceful skeletons to disclose some Alice-in-Wonderland door or the grim hinges of some sepulchral grill . . . Best known as the author of The Road to Oxiana, published in 1937, Robert Byron had developed his considerable writing skills on this travel book which has not been in print since 1926. It describes a journey Byron made with three friends, driving across Europe between two world wars, and mixes political and historical analysis with architectural insights, classical scholarship, and the day-to-day adventures of three young and not very experienced travelers. For fans of Robert Byron' s work this will be a discovery; for others it will be an introduction. Includes nine original sketches made by the author during his travels.
Robert Byron is best remembered now for The Road to Oxiana. Less well-known is that, like many of his generation, notably Nancy Mitford, Evelyn Waugh and Diana Cooper, he was an entertaining letter-writer. He also had much opportunity to write, travelling widely as he did in pursuit of his enthusiasm for Byzantine and Islamic art and architecture. Some of his travels he turned into books; The Station in which he recounts his journies to Mount Athos; First Russia, then Tibet. In each case, his letters home provide a vivid and often hilarious account of the reality underlying the text.;As well as strenuous forays to far-flung parts of the globe, these letters record his years at Eton and Oxford, enlivened by friends like Henry Yorke and Harold Acton, and also his developing career as a writer, his lecture tours to America and his reactions to impending war. They chart the maturing of a rare intelligence.
In 1927, at the age of 22, Robert Byron journeyed to Athos with his friends and embarked on an adventure whose influence would remain with him for the rest of his life. Mount Athos, the spiritual heart of Eastern Orthodox Monasticism, is perhaps the most sacred and mysterious place in Greece: an autonomous state, where no woman can set foot, which has its own calendar and its own time. This ruggedly beautiful peninsula in Macedonia boasts a history that stretches back to Herodotus and has been a sanctuary from the earliest days of Christianity, through the Byzantine and Ottoman eras, two world wars and up to the present day. Through compelling descriptions of the monks of Athos, their daily lives and the treasures held in their monasteries, Byron illuminates an ancient and enigmatic world, long shrouded from the eyes of outsiders. Published nine years before his classic The Road to Oxiana, The Station reveals the roots of a fascination with the Byzantine world that would become refined in Byron's later writings and establish him as one of the pre-eminent writers of his generation.
Blending classic travel writing with passionate observations on the deeper political and social issues of the time, Robert Byron writes with uncanny prescience of the eventual horrors of the Soviet Union and the downfall of the Raj. Over the course of several months during 1931 and 1932, Robert Byron journeyed to three countries teetering on the brink of change. In Russia, which was stricken by famine, Lenin had just died, Stalin's dictatorship was in its infancy and the Great Terror was yet to begin. Having taken the first commercial flight to India, which took a week, Byron was thrown into the tumultuous last years of the British Raj. Gandhi was imprisoned, while rioting and clashes between Hindus and Muslims had become commonplace. Finally Byron entered Tibet, the forbidden country. Exploring the Land of Snows, he saw Tibet as it was when the then Dalai Lama was still ensconced in the Potala Palace, twenty years before China's invasion. As a piece of travel literature, First Russia, Then Tibet is compelling and beautifully written. As a portrait of these countries in the 1930s, it is invaluable. Ultimately, it illuminates the constant quest for meaning that underscored Robert Byron's life and travels.
This title, first published in 1987, comprises of three essays which examine Lord Byron’s poetry. Some of Byron’s most famous poems are examined, including Don Juan and Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. This title will be of interest to students of literature.
Comparisons of Scott and Byron, so natural to 19th century readers, are scarce nowadays. Using a variety of critical and philosophical vocabularies illustratively, though not dependently, this study provides a timely and original study of two giants of 19th century European literature engaged in an experimental, mutually-informing act of genre-splicing, seeking to return history and romance to what both perceived was their native complementarity. The book shows how both writers utilise historical examples to suggest the continuing relevance of romance models, and how they confront threats to that relevance, whether they derive from the linear conception of history or the ‘romantic’ misapprehension of it. The argument proceeds by examining those threats, and then weighing the revival of romance via, rather than contra, the historical.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
First published in 1931, Robert Byron’s Essay on India evaluates the state of colonial rule in India and analyses the contemporary problems facing the country. Based upon Byron’s travelling experiences within India in 1929 as a correspondent for the Daily Express, the work explores political factors more fully than in Byron's earlier writings, evaluating the successes and failures of British colonialism in the region.
Southern California is many things to many people. A continuous influx of new people, new ideas, new interests, and different life styles creates a mind-boggling diversity. This story covers the life of an individual who is part of that diverse mosaic - an East Coast transplant who comes to Southern California by way of the US Marine Corps and San Diego. This book is a chronology of indelible memories that begin with family life in the depression thirties and the early-on impact of Catholicism from elementary school to mid-college. It provides a unique insiders view of life in a near monastic setting when the author, at age 15, commits himself to a religious order. Leaving the order in mid-college, he joins another highly disciplined organization the United States Marine Corps where, as both an enlisted man and officer, he sheds the earlier mold of the religious life. After military service, years of mainstream jobs follow including city halls, county government, and aerospace - all blended with a heavy dose of politics and teaching. His engagement with entrepreneurial undertakings follows with responses to critical needs such as jobs for displaced aerospace engineers when space programs are cutback, creation of a charter school to meet the need for better public schools, and his expansion of academic programs to engage older Americans in mentally stimulating and life enhancing learning experiences. All these experiences are couched within the context of events that highlighted each decade. This multifaceted career takes its toll on a marriage of thirty years whose continuity has been sustained in large measure through a family- shared hobby of dancing. But even dancing cant hold together the strains put on a marriage by a roller coaster life of continuous change. Divorce and the premature death of 3 of 4 children mar a life absorbed with programs designed to benefit the community. Despite these losses, the author continues to lead, teach, and dance. This book reflects so many facets of southland life that many readers, especially long time residents of Southern California, will identify with one or more aspects the military, former aerospace workers, city workers, teachers, and the retirement community. It provides a unique overview of Southern Californias dance scene especially in the Los Angeles-Orange County-San Bernardino/Riverside, and San Diego areas. Dancing has long been central to the authors family - ballroom, country, folk, and swing. The hobby continues to fuel the authors energy and pleasure. To those in or about to enter the expanding ranks of Americas seniors, the author sets an example of an age-impervious effort to enhance a communitys learning resources. His current efforts involve formation of a senior think tank whose analyses of current events will be shared with schools and the community.
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