The Volcano Lover - Hardcover

Reviews

It should be no surprise that Sontag's (The Way We Live Now) excursion into the realm of historical/romance novels serves a more rigorous agenda than merely fictionalizing the lives of Sir William Hamilton; his wife, Emma; and her lover, Lord Nelson. The narrative illuminates larger themes: the venality and hypocrisy of many of the pillars of 18th-century society; the perennial status of women as an underclass; the subservience of ethics to political expediency; the greed that often fuels a patron of the arts. These and other issues are examined in cool, ironic prose that does not disguise the author's indignation. Sontag's unconventional look at one of history's most famous amorous triangles offers revisionist portraits of her three protagonists. Hamilton, known as the Cavaliere in his post as British envoy to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, subverts his emotions into an obsessive urge to collect antiquities--until he becomes infatuated with Emma. Nelson is guilty of callously cruel and unprofessional behavior as a result of his infatuation with Lady Hamilton. Only she acquits herself relatively well; though she is vulgar and ostentatious, Emma has humanitarian instincts the others lack. The novel is a brilliant portrait of an age, the bloody epoch in which the Bourbon monarchs of the Kingdom of Naples--aided by the infamous Baron Scarpia of Tosca fame--took violent revenge on the revolutionaries and intellectuals who supported the insurrection of 1799. A master of descriptive detail, Sontag creates vivid pictures of an erupting Vesuvius; deadly storms at sea; the excesses of a pillaging, murderous mob. She also interjects herself into the narrative, a piquant but sometimes jarring technique. The ending, in which various characters summarize the novel's events, seems gratuitous, but it allows Sontag to drive her message home. The last line reads: "They thought they were civilized. They were despicable. Damn them all." (Aug.) .
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The first novel in over 20 years by America's preeminent belletrist is a historical tour de force. This tale of 18th-century romance and revolution is certain to charm readers who enjoy the postmodern potboilers of Umberto Eco and A.S. Byatt. After a pretentious prologue about her role as author, Sontag dives into the grand drama of the English nobleman William Hamilton, ambassador to the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, the Bourbon monarchy based in Naples. ``Il Cavaliere,'' as he's called by his hosts, fancies himself ``an envoy of decorum and reason'' to the grotesque King. Where Sir William delights in collecting art and artifacts, and exploring the great volcano at Vesuvius, the fat King devotes himself to gluttony and impregnating his ambitious wife. After the Cavaliere's frail wife dies at age 44, the melancholic ambassador returns to England, where he grows infatuated with his nephew's mistress, a stunning beauty from the lower classes who mixes charm with vulgarity. Seeking a wealthy wife, the nephew passes his mistress to his uncle, now back in Naples. And soon follows a scandalous marriage between the 56-year- old ambassador and the 20-year-old lady of dubious virtue. A quick study, as well as a much-painted subject, Lady Emma Hamilton becomes the toast of Naples and the Queen's confidante. Her fall into infamy begins when she meets the hero of the age, Lord Nelson, ``the saviour of the royalist cause.'' In outline, this seems little more than the Vivien Leigh melodrama That Hamilton Woman. But Sontag adds such historical texture to her saga of sexual intrigue that it all comes to sordid life, full of passion and politics. Her warts-and-all version of history relies on a profound imagining of each character's point of view. At once heady and heartfelt, this is Sontag's best bid for a popular audience. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

The astringently intellectual Sontag here turns to lush historical romance based on the real-life triangle of Sir William Hamilton, his wife Emma, and Lord Nelson. The English ambassador to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in the late 1700s, the Cavaliere is an exacting collector of antiquities and a frequent visitor to Mount Vesuvius. When his devoted wife Catherine dies, he becomes enamored of his nephew's beautiful if vulgar mistress. Emma gladly marries her benefactor but finds real love when heroic Lord Nelson visits Naples. The story starts slowly, and the Cavaliere's relation as collector to the collected Emma seems too obvious. But as Sontag warms to her subject, the novel becomes rich, expansive, and highly entertaining, right down to the slambang final chapters whose rapidly shifting voices suddenly provide new perspective. Hardly digressions, Sontag's many aesthetic speculations wonderfully enhance the plot. A fine novel of ideas, this is sure to please venturesome readers of historical romance as well. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/92.
-Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.