- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Pocket Books; New edition edition (1 Mar 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743450825
- ISBN-13: 978-0743450829
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13 x 3.2 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,022,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
VOGUE
'A sweeping, peculiarly gripping history of the world's biggest blue diamond'
DAILY EXPRESS
'Brings a thousand years of history to life . . . around this single bright sparkling highlight'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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7 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
I Don't Think So
20 July 2002
Format:Hardcover
One of the dumbest books I have ever read. Fowler does OK, just OK, when she writes of the more recent history of the diamond because she has well-documented information from which to draw. But, in her chronicles of the stone during the early years of its murky existence, she lets her imagination run wild, her prose becomes over-blown and turgid, and "facts" she throws about are questionable in the extreme. Ghastly, ghastly writing. Do NOT buy this book!
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Mildly diverting
20 Jun 2002
Format:Hardcover
Hope: Adventures of a Diamond might be worth a quick read if you have nothing better to read at the moment. The author writes mostly about the diamond's various owners, who were generally people of little interest. There is some information about the diamond and diamond-cutting, as well as some about other famous gems. The author, who holds a doctorate in English literature, cannot seem to decide whether she wishes to write a fiction or nonfiction book; she frequently launches into melodramatic prose about things she could not possibly know, such as owners' thoughts. Occasionally irritating is the author's lack of knowledge about things like history and economics, on which she nevertheless pronounces her opinions. For instance, she writes that Peter the Great "proved to be very kind and gentle". His own son, who he had tortured and killed, would be surprised to know that! Similarly, she says that Napoleon "marched with ego as big as his army across Europe, and England acted to contain him". Just England, huh? Where was England at the Battle of the Nations? Finally, perhaps only an English major could write with a straight face that the diamond's first European owner "prefigures the modern capitalist... who is still pillaging the global village". In summary, the book contains some information that is mildly interesting, but don't expect a lot.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
lacks sparkle
18 July 2002
Format:Hardcover
There isn't a lot that could have done to make this more interesting, and the attempts made at conjecture and embellishment (regarding its curse, for example) don't add very much to the content. But, a reader does learn the story of the Hope Diamond and through the telling, about an interesting mix of historical information such as the French Revolution, Regency England, and Gilded Age America. And gem novices can learn about the nature of diamonds and of cultural attitudes to diamonds at various places and times in this book.
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