Spending a fortune for a reason is an enviable life, that of sir Arthur Evans. Although the character is a rather stiff upper lip racist, he is redeemed by a passion for early civilizations. His father paved the way with his search for fossils (at the time of the Darwin polemic, and despite enraged creationists). Arthur's adoption of Schliemann's "poetic archeology" (H. Schliemann is the wealthy amateur who kept digging, holding his Homer in the other hand) made again wonders.
I admired his enthusiasm when reconstructing Minos' palace in Cnossos (at his own expense). The tribulations he encountered are well exposed.
This book makes the reader dream throughout. Mediterranea, adn specifically Creta, must have been a paradise in these years. Despite the prejudices of his class, Evans finally realized that, through his beloved Minoans. Worth reading.