Hope: Adventures of a Diamond

Hope: Adventures of a Diamond

by Marian Fowler (Author)

Synopsis

The epic story of a legendary gem and its colourful succession of extraordinary owners. Allegedly a curse to those that own it, the Hope Diamond - a flawless blue diamond of over forty-five carats - has inspired centuries of legends and lies, fabulous superstition and fierce passion. In rich, shimmering prose, Marian Fowler explains how the Hope Diamond was formed in nature - and how it was taken from the mines and temples of India to the royal courts of seventeenth-century Europe. Acquired and cherished by Louis XIV, the stone was stolen in an almost farcical French Revolution robbery. It resurfaced twenty years later in London and passed through numerous hands, including those of a notorious music hall singer, a socially ambitious gold miner's daughter and the famous jeweller Harry Winston - until it finally arrived at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. At once erudite and extravagantly entertaining, HOPE is an irresistible and alluring work of social history, bringing to vivid life the diverse parade of men and women who were linked by their obsession with the world's rarest jewel.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 336
Edition: First edition
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
Published: 17 Feb 2003

ISBN 10: 0743231856
ISBN 13: 9780743231855

Author Bio
Marion Fowler holds a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Toronto and is the author of a number of books including BLENHEIM: BIOGRAPHY OF A PALACE and IN A GILDED CAGE: AMERICAN HEIRESSES WHO MARRIED BRITISH ARISTOCRATS.