The Makers of Venice

Margaret Oliphant (who always published under the name “Mrs. Oliphant”) wrote nearly 100 novels in her lifetime and is frequently dismissed as an insignificant writer who favored quantity over quality. Many are beginning to call such a characterization unfair, though, particularly since “Mrs. Oliphant” also wrote compelling and valuable historical texts, such as The Makers of Venice. This text richly portrays the cultural history of the Italian city leading up to the Renaissance, offering biographical information of Marco Polo, various artists, and Enrico Dandolo, the longtime doge of Venice. Oliphant explained architecture and cityscapes in careful, intelligent detail--pictured here is the “Fondamenta Zen”, a port which she describes to her readers. Oliphant may have been somewhat unexceptional in the quality of her novels, but her bright career as a cultural historian should not be dismissed.

Lehigh University Catalog Record: https://asa.lib.lehigh.edu/Record/338118

A version of this text has been digitized and is available through the Internet Archive.