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Papyrus
- Author
- Irene Vallejo
- Narrator
- Sophie Roberts
- Publisher
- Hodder & Stoughton
- Publish Date
- 1 November 2022
- Run Time
- 17 hours 29 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
A FINANCIAL TIMES, ECONOMIST AND MAIL ON SUNDAY BOOK OF THE YEAR
An enthralling 6,000-year journey through the history of books and reading
Long before books were mass-produced, scrolls hand copied on reeds pulled from the Nile were the treasures of the ancient world. Emperors and Pharaohs were so determined to possess them that they dispatched emissaries to the edges of the earth to bring them back.
In Papyrus, celebrated classicist Irene Vallejo traces the dramatic history of the book and the fight for its survival. This is the story of the book's journey from oral tradition to scrolls to codices, and how that transition laid the very foundation of Western culture. And it is a story full of heroic adventures, bloodshed and megalomania - from the battlefields of Alexander the Great and the palaces of Cleopatra to the libraries of war-torn Sarajevo and Oxford.
An international bestseller, Papyrus brings the ancient world to life and celebrates the enduring power of the written word.
(P) 2022 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Critics Review
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A literary phenomenon . . . didactic and daring . . . elegant and richly digressive.
Times Literary Supplement
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Details
- Author
- Irene Vallejo
- Narrator
- Sophie Roberts
- Duration
- 17 hours 29 minutes
- Release Date
- 1 November 2022
- ISBN
- 9781529343991
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Hodder & Stoughton
- Genre
- Ancient history, Literature: history and criticism, Inventions and inventors
Synopsis
THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLERA FINANCIAL TIMES, ECONOMIST AND MAIL ON SUNDAY BOOK OF THE YEARAn enthralling 6,000-year journey through the history of books and readingLong before books were mass-produced, scrolls hand copied on reeds pulled from the Nile were the treasures of the ancient world. Emperors and Pharaohs were so determined to possess them that they dispatched emissaries to the edges of the earth to bring them back.In Papyrus, celebrated classicist Irene Vallejo traces the dramatic history of the book and the fight for its survival. This is the story of the book's journey from oral tradition to scrolls to codices, and how that transition laid the very foundation of Western culture. And it is a story full of heroic adventures, bloodshed and megalomania - from the battlefields of Alexander the Great and the palaces of Cleopatra to the libraries of war-torn Sarajevo and Oxford.An international bestseller, Papyrus brings the ancient world to life and celebrates the enduring power of the written word.(P) 2022 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
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