Rome Done Lightly
1972 book by George Worsley Adamson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rome Done Lightly is George Adamson's 1972 "light-hearted romp"[1] in words and drawings through the Eternal City.
Jacket showing the Capitoline sculpture of Romulus and Remus and the she-wolf | |
| Author | George Adamson |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | George Adamson |
| Cover artist | George Adamson |
| Language | English |
Release number | 1st edition |
| Subject | Humour, Rome, Tourism |
| Published | London |
| Publisher | Chatto & Windus |
Publication date | 13 January 1972 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 45 |
| ISBN | 978-0-7011-1622-4 |
| OCLC | 548618 |
| 914.56/32/0492 | |
| LC Class | DG806.2 .A63 |
| Website | www.georgewadamson.com |
Summary
"Tongue in cheek, [Adamson] sets the reader on a trail of research — does the Church of San Demente really exist? Why was the Bridge of Four Heads so named?"[2] His text is full of curious and useful information, and some of the drawings were first published in Punch in two cartoon features on Rome.[3]
Critical reception
The Economist praised the artist's skill as a cartoonist: "Familiarity breeds caricature: it is difficult to cartoon the unfamiliar. Mr Adamson has managed beautifully, with the minimum of tedious explanation and the maximum of careful drawing . . ."[4] Cecil Roberts writing in Books and Bookmen touched upon a paradox underlying much of Adamson's work: "I wish [Rome] wasn't done so lightly. I am distressed to see so superb an artist put on cap and bells when illustrating the Roman scene."[5]