Life of J.D. Åkerblad

Fredrik Thomasson, Ph.D. (2009) in History, European University Institute, Florence, is a Research Fellow at Uppsala University. He has recently published a number of articles on eighteenth century history, e.g. in the International Journal of Cultural Property, Lychnos and several anthologies.

• List of Figures, Tables and PlatesAcknowledgementsList of abbreviationsIntroductionPart I – The making of a diplomat and orientalist1. Family and education2. Constantinople – city of rumours3. Diplomacy and intrigue4. Travel in the East5. War in Egypt6. Mixing East and West7. “The sabre in one hand and the Koran in the other”Part II – 1789–1801: Revolution and turmoil8. Return to Europe9. To Constantinople and back10. “A dangerous man of Enlightenment”11. The Roman Republic 1798–9912. Final year in SwedenPart III – Reading Egyptian: deciphering the Rosetta inscriptions13. “I am alive only in Paris”14. Åkerblad’s Rosetta Lettre15. Geographic competition16. Egyptology and orientalismPart IV – The Napoleonic wars and Restoration in Italy17. Book thefts, inkblots and French expropriations18. Antiquarian in Rome19. Salons and belle amiche20. Curses and cabals21. Oriental Rome22. Archaeology and art23. French defeat24. Digging with the Duchess of Devonshire25. “Despised by Sweden and by every Swede”ConclusionReferencesIndexes

‘’This is a sad but admirable work, well-written and well-researched. It is also extremely well-illustrated; the color plates of Åkerblad’s work in hieroglyphics are especially fine.’’In: Reference & Research Book News, December 2013 p. 37.