The Elgin Affair: The Abduction of Antiquity's Greatest Treasures and the Passions It Aroused

New York: Arcade Publishing, 1997. xvi, 238 pages, [16] pages of plates, illustrations; 25 cm. Near fine. Tight, clean copy. Spine lightly bumped at heel. Stated First Edition. Fine DJ. Another copy available. "Almost 200 years after they were 'purchased' from Greece, the finest, and most famous, marbles of antiquity still remain a burning issue. Every year, millions of people visit London's British Museum to admire the magnificent Greek sculptures that adorned the Parthenon in Athens for more than two thousand years. This compelling and controversial story of the Elgin marbles (named for Thomas Bruce, seventh earl of Elgin, who stripped the Parthenon of these exquisite works in what has been called 'the greatest art theft in history') re-creates in full and colorful detail a steamy tale of obsession, intrigue, adultery and ruin. As the British ambassador to the Sublime Porte in Constantinople, Lord Elgin encountered some of the most famous names of nineteenth-century history: Napoleon (Elgin's prime antagonist, who wanted the Parthenon for the Louvre), Sultan Selim III, Lord Neslon, Lord Byron, Keats, and the stunning beauty of the time, Lady Hamilton. Drawing on original source material--letters, diaries, official government reports and memoranda, together with the full divorce proceedings of a scandalous adultery trial in Edinburgh--and on his earlier work on the subject, Vrettos brings brilliantly to life these fascinating events of history. Rounding out the story of the marbles, the author concludes with the latest battles between the Greek and English governments over the rightful ownership of these priceless treasures. / Theodore Vrettos is the author of several books of fiction and non-fiction, including two earlier works on the Elgin marbles: A Shadow of Magnitude and Lord Elgin's Lady. He lives in Peabody, Massachusetts." - Publisher.. 1st. Hardcover. Very Good/Fine. 8vo.