Cretan Chronicle: An Archaeological Childhood

Häftad, Engelska, 2026

629 kr

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Cretan Chronicle: An Archaeological Childhood is about love and stoicism.As a young child, Mary is uprooted from her home in Crete among an archaeological community and resettles in England. Revisiting Crete each year, Mary begins to assist her father, Sinclair Hood, in his fieldwork. The ruined Palace of Minos transforms from her playground into her workplace. Sinclair struggles to publish excavation reports, preferring to revel in media acclaim. Burying family stories, he wrestles with pacifism and his Anglo-Catholic faith. Mary sets out to study architecture, and mixes pleasure and jealousy in a tangled love triangle with an artist-poet. She must learn to forsake lust, stop working for Sinclair, and figure her way out of her own Labyrinth.Steeped in the myths of Zeus and his daughter Athena, and born in Greece, but not Greek, Mary interweaves themes of identity, trauma and redemption with stories of fickle deities and the regenerative power of nature. She unearths her archaeological family’s secrets with riveting intricacy to give a unique perspective on her father’s unusual upbringing by a capricious wealthy mother, as well as his loves and career.Appealing to readers interested in mid-20th century archaeological lives, Cretan Chronicle sparkles with clarity and humour—strengthened and nurtured by the bright Mediterranean sun.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2026-04-16
Mått174 x 245 x 26 mm
Vikt988 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
SerieArchaeological Lives
Antal sidor382
FörlagArchaeopress
ISBN9781805833086

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Mary Van Dyke was born into an archaeological family and privileged to work with her father, Sinclair Hood, for many years drawing pottery from excavations and helping him record the masons’ marks in the Palace of Knossos, Crete. Mary synthesises research from family archives, scrapbook clippings, conversations and her own journals to recreate vivid scenes and characters from her childhood.Prior to Cretan Chronicle, Mary published illustrated poems and produced environmental education programmes for schools. She studied architecture at Bristol University, Oxford Polytechnic and University College, London (PhD). Her designs include patchworks and videos about plants, clothes and tin-pan alley music that engage audiences with outdoor beauty.

List of FiguresAcknowledgementsAbbreviations Book One: Idyll1: Making Marks2: My Bronze Age Family3: Down to the Palace, Up to the Villa4: Thrill of the Chase5: Round and Round6: To Market7: Moving Houses Book Two: Loving + Leaving8: Art Makes Permanent9: Ancestral Footsteps10: Unto Death11: Skeletons on the Table12: War and Peace13: Doing Archaeology14: Courtships Book Three: The Eternal Return15: Publish or Perish16: Symbols of Power17: Are We There Yet?18: Reprise19: Aligning Stars Book Four: Choices20: Looking for a Stone21: You Never Know What You’ll Find22: Stay Out of International Politics23: Where to Look24: Follow Your Heart25: Messara and Monasteries26: Sitting on a Rock Book Five: Struggle For Freedom27: Finding My Passion28: Christmas Lunch29: Questions30: Marbled Cake31: Resurrection32: Make Visible Book Six: Out Of The Labyrinth33: Mud Glorious Mud34: Sunsets35: Pure Joy36: Weekend Away37: Postcards38: Splinted Wings39: Dancing Out References