This 'dream-laden and spooked' (Marina Warner, London Review of Books) story is to many one of the best-loved books of the twentieth century. Munthe spent many years working as a doctor in Southern Italy, labouring unstintingly during typhus, cholera and earthquake disasters. It was during this period that he came across the ruined Tiberian villa of San Michele, perched high above the glittering Bay of Naples on Capri. With the help of Mastro Nicola and his three sons, and with only a charcoal sketch roughly drawn on a garden wall to guide them, Munthe devoted himself to rebuilding the house and chapel. Over five long summers they toiled under a sapphire-blue sky, their mad-cap project leading them to buried skeletons and ancient coins, and to hilarious encounters with a rich cast of vividly-drawn villagers. The Story of San Michele reverberates with the mesmerising hum of a long, hot Italian summer. Peopled with unforgettable characters, it is as brilliantly enjoyable and readable today as it was upon first publication. The book quickly became an international bestseller and has now been translated into more than 30 languages; it is today an established classic, and sales number i

Axel Munthe's autobiography offers insight into his professional life as a doctor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, his life anecdotes ranging from the lighthearted to the deeply serious. Titled after the ruined Italian chapel Munthe encountered and desired to renovate, these memoirs span a series of stories taking place over decades. Munthe does not discuss his personal life or family, instead opting to describe the various medical procedures and patients he encountered as a doctor working in a range of different countries. Although some of the author's recollections are clearly fictional - including a posthumous chapter set at the gates at heaven - there are several chapters both eye-opening and sobering for their seriousness. The constraints of the medicine of the time are revealed in the frank recollections of patients whose lives could not be saved, with Munthe instead opting to lessen their suffering as they struggled through the later, painful stages of illness.

Axel Munthe's autobiography offers insight into his professional life as a doctor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, his life anecdotes ranging from the lighthearted to the deeply serious. Titled after the ruined Italian chapel Munthe encountered and desired to renovate, these memoirs span a series of stories taking place over decades. Munthe does not discuss his personal life or family, instead opting to describe the various medical procedures and patients he encountered as a doctor working in a range of different countries. Although some of the author's recollections are clearly fictional - including a posthumous chapter set at the gates at heaven - there are several chapters both eye-opening and sobering for their seriousness. The constraints of the medicine of the time are revealed in the frank recollections of patients whose lives could not be saved, with Munthe instead opting to lessen their suffering as they struggled through the later, painful stages of illness.

This is a new release of the original 1930 edition.

1930. More sketches and stories from the author of The Story of San Michele. Readers of that book will come across several old acquaintances in this volume, all in their same old clothes, for they have nothing else to put on their backs. My friend Archangelo Fusco, the street-sweeper of Quartier Montparnasse; the Salvatore family; Don Gaetano, the organ-grinder with his shivering monkey; and others. Contents: For Those Who Love Music; Toys from the Paris Horizon; Monsieur Alfredo; Italy in Paris; Raffaella; Mont Blanc, King of the Mountains; Menagerie; Zoology; A Cry in the Wilderness; Political Agitations in Capri; The Dogs in Capri; Soeur Philomene; When Tappio was Lost; La Madonna del Buon Cammino; Porta San Paolo; and Instead of a Preface. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

1930. More sketches and stories from the author of The Story of San Michele. Readers of that book will come across several old acquaintances in this volume, all in their same old clothes, for they have nothing else to put on their backs. My friend Archangelo Fusco, the street-sweeper of Quartier Montparnasse; the Salvatore family; Don Gaetano, the organ-grinder with his shivering monkey; and others. Contents: For Those Who Love Music; Toys from the Paris Horizon; Monsieur Alfredo; Italy in Paris; Raffaella; Mont Blanc, King of the Mountains; Menagerie; Zoology; A Cry in the Wilderness; Political Agitations in Capri; The Dogs in Capri; Soeur Philomene; When Tappio was Lost; La Madonna del Buon Cammino; Porta San Paolo; and Instead of a Preface. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

MEMORIES AND VAGARIES BY AXEL MUNTHE AUTHOR OF THE STORY OF SAN MICHELE ETC, Chacmi ne doit raconter que ce quil a TU lui-ro me de cette fagon le monde connattra la v6rlt NEW YORK E. P. BUTTON 8c CO., INC. MEMORIES ANDVA IBS I figST PUBLISHED IN TrfE UNITED-SrSpES 0 AMERICA BY E. P. DUTXQN COMPANY, INC. 1980 1930 SXCOND PRINTING .... H . M . WH .... M ... NovEMBES f 1930 THIRD PRINTING ... ... NOVEMBER, 1930 FOURTH PRINTING .. M . H . H ..... M ....... NOVEKBES, 1930 FIFTH PRINTING .............. NovEMBB2, 1930 SIXTH PRINTING MMMM . MmM ... M . M ... JNovEiCBER, 1930 SEVENTH PRINTING ................ NOVZMBER, 1930 EIGHTH PRINTING .. M..... M.-. NOVEMBBR, 1930 NINTH PRINTING ............................... NOVEMBER, 1930 TENTH PRINTING ......... NOVEMBER, 1930 ELEVENTH PRINTING NOVEMBER, 1930 TWXXFTH PRINTING . .. ...... NOVEMBER, 1930 TO R. B. CUNNINGHAME GRAHAM JFROM HIS jElHEND AND ATVfti i K U. K. PREFACE TO THE T LIRD ENGLISH EDITION BENEVOLENT readers of The Story of Sew Michele have come forth with a gallant attempt to rescue this little book from oblivion. I fear I have not done very well for myself by consenting to a re print of these small sketches or stories, or whatever they are to be called. They were all written long, long ago by an inexperienced hand in rather indif ferent English. I flatter myself with the belief that, were I to sit down and rewrite them to-day, I would make a better book, at least to the majority of its readers. But there still exists a minority of booklovers with a sneaking weakness for sponta neous writing, who will, maybe, approve of my bold ness in leaving these stories just as they were writ ten, to take care of themselves as best they can. Readersof The Story of San Michele will come . across several old acquaintances here, all in their same old clothes, for they have nothing else to put on their backs. My friend Archangelo Fusco, the street-sweeper of Quartier Montparnasse the Sal vatore family Don Gaetano, the organ-grinder PREFACE with his shivering monkey Monsieur Alfredo with the MS. of his last five-act tragedy under his arm, are all here. Even Soeur Philomne, the sweet guar dian angel of Salle St. Claire in the Paris hospital, lives and dies in these pages. The same shabby old monks and priests are carrying through the cholera slums of Naples their respective madonnas and patron saints, all quarrelling among themselves. The same glorious sun is shining over Golfo di Napoli. Out of its sparkling waters rises the same enchanted island, where the same friendly people welcome the reader. Even the dogs in this book are wagging their tails in token of recognition. The beloved Tappio in the chapter When Tappio was lost in this book was the great-grandfather of the Tappio Miss Hall took for his daily walk in Villa Borghese, and who lay half - asleep in the sunny pergola of San Michele while Billy, the drunkard baboon, was busy catching his fleas. The pedigree of Billy is more obscure, though I still stick to my belief that he was an illegitimate son of II Demonio. But I know for certain that the wooden horse I gave on Christmas Day to John, the blue-eyed lit tle boy in The Story of San Michele, was a lineal descendant of the wooden horse which Petrucchio, the child of sorrow of the Salvatore family, is hold ing in his withered hand in this book. I know, too, that my friend Archangelo Fusco, the street sweeper in Impasse Roussel, is the same Archangelo Fusco I met in Heaven in the last chapter of the PREFACE book of San Michele. I am equally certain that his cruel landlord, the money-lender to the poor in Im passe Roussel, whom I caused to hang himself in this book, is now keeping company in hell with the ex-butcher who blinded the quails with a red-hot needle in The Story of San Michele. Memories and Vagaries have been out of print for long...

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

MEMORIES AND VAGARIES BY AXEL MUNTHE AUTHOR OF THE STORY OF SAN MICHELE ETC, Chacmi ne doit raconter que ce quil a TU lui-ro me de cette fagon le monde connattra la v6rlt NEW YORK E. P. BUTTON 8c CO., INC. MEMORIES ANDVA IBS I figST PUBLISHED IN TrfE UNITED-SrSpES 0 AMERICA BY E. P. DUTXQN COMPANY, INC. 1980 1930 SXCOND PRINTING .... H . M . WH .... M ... NovEMBES f 1930 THIRD PRINTING ... ... NOVEMBER, 1930 FOURTH PRINTING .. M . H . H ..... M ....... NOVEKBES, 1930 FIFTH PRINTING .............. NovEMBB2, 1930 SIXTH PRINTING MMMM . MmM ... M . M ... JNovEiCBER, 1930 SEVENTH PRINTING ................ NOVZMBER, 1930 EIGHTH PRINTING .. M..... M.-. NOVEMBBR, 1930 NINTH PRINTING ............................... NOVEMBER, 1930 TENTH PRINTING ......... NOVEMBER, 1930 ELEVENTH PRINTING NOVEMBER, 1930 TWXXFTH PRINTING . .. ...... NOVEMBER, 1930 TO R. B. CUNNINGHAME GRAHAM JFROM HIS jElHEND AND ATVfti i K U. K. PREFACE TO THE T LIRD ENGLISH EDITION BENEVOLENT readers of The Story of Sew Michele have come forth with a gallant attempt to rescue this little book from oblivion. I fear I have not done very well for myself by consenting to a re print of these small sketches or stories, or whatever they are to be called. They were all written long, long ago by an inexperienced hand in rather indif ferent English. I flatter myself with the belief that, were I to sit down and rewrite them to-day, I would make a better book, at least to the majority of its readers. But there still exists a minority of booklovers with a sneaking weakness for sponta neous writing, who will, maybe, approve of my bold ness in leaving these stories just as they were writ ten, to take care of themselves as best they can. Readersof The Story of San Michele will come . across several old acquaintances here, all in their same old clothes, for they have nothing else to put on their backs. My friend Archangelo Fusco, the street-sweeper of Quartier Montparnasse the Sal vatore family Don Gaetano, the organ-grinder PREFACE with his shivering monkey Monsieur Alfredo with the MS. of his last five-act tragedy under his arm, are all here. Even Soeur Philomne, the sweet guar dian angel of Salle St. Claire in the Paris hospital, lives and dies in these pages. The same shabby old monks and priests are carrying through the cholera slums of Naples their respective madonnas and patron saints, all quarrelling among themselves. The same glorious sun is shining over Golfo di Napoli. Out of its sparkling waters rises the same enchanted island, where the same friendly people welcome the reader. Even the dogs in this book are wagging their tails in token of recognition. The beloved Tappio in the chapter When Tappio was lost in this book was the great-grandfather of the Tappio Miss Hall took for his daily walk in Villa Borghese, and who lay half - asleep in the sunny pergola of San Michele while Billy, the drunkard baboon, was busy catching his fleas. The pedigree of Billy is more obscure, though I still stick to my belief that he was an illegitimate son of II Demonio. But I know for certain that the wooden horse I gave on Christmas Day to John, the blue-eyed lit tle boy in The Story of San Michele, was a lineal descendant of the wooden horse which Petrucchio, the child of sorrow of the Salvatore family, is hold ing in his withered hand in this book. I know, too, that my friend Archangelo Fusco, the street sweeper in Impasse Roussel, is the same Archangelo Fusco I met in Heaven in the last chapter of the PREFACE book of San Michele. I am equally certain that his cruel landlord, the money-lender to the poor in Im passe Roussel, whom I caused to hang himself in this book, is now keeping company in hell with the ex-butcher who blinded the quails with a red-hot needle in The Story of San Michele. Memories and Vagaries have been out of print for long...

1930. More sketches and stories from the author of The Story of San Michele. Readers of that book will come across several old acquaintances in this volume, all in their same old clothes, for they have nothing else to put on their backs. My friend Archangelo Fusco, the street-sweeper of Quartier Montparnasse; the Salvatore family; Don Gaetano, the organ-grinder with his shivering monkey; and others. Contents: For Those Who Love Music; Toys from the Paris Horizon; Monsieur Alfredo; Italy in Paris; Raffaella; Mont Blanc, King of the Mountains; Menagerie; Zoology; A Cry in the Wilderness; Political Agitations in Capri; The Dogs in Capri; Soeur Philomene; When Tappio was Lost; La Madonna del Buon Cammino; Porta San Paolo; and Instead of a Preface. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.