Axel Munthe was a fashionable physician in Paris who built one of the best-loved houses in the world, San Michele, on the Isle of Capri, on the site of the villa of the emperor Tiberius. -- The Times [London] "Written in an imaginative style that is vigorous and impressive." Next to Sicily and the destruction wrought by the Messina earthquake and, after some incredible adventures, an escape to the mainland. “The Story of San Michele” is one of these. The story of San Michele The Story of San Michele is regarded as Munthe’s life work. Several discussions with animals and supernatural beings take place, and the final chapter actually takes place after Munthe has died and includes his discussions with Saint Peter at the gates of Heaven. I read it in the German translation and found it so unbelievably trite, vain, and embarrassing that I did not hesitate for a moment in rejecting it. An hour at the self-built memorial of the Swedish doctor who loved Capri http://youtu.be/uujBnlG7ahs (17 October 2013), He is immediately enthralled by the island, the Roman ruins, the isolated people and their stories. There was a problem loading your book clubs. A Matterhorn ascent that he barely survived is given some paragraphs. Here is a story for thoughtful people who want to find themselves in serving others. My mother had plans to meet a friend for a drink at a bar on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Unable to add item to List. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! Much loved read for new generations, and a now there is a companion book. He associated with a number of celebrities of his times, including Jean-Martin Charcot, Louis Pasteur, Henry James, and Guy de Maupassant, all of whom figure in the book. Worldwide, the book was immensely successful; by 1930, there had been twelve editions of the English version alone, and Munthe added a second preface. Author (s): Axel Munthe. I had the great fortune to visit San Michele in Anacapri on the Isle of Capri, off of Naples, Italy, in 1972 and 1976. This book paints a picture of a bygone age through the author’s unique experiences. The life of the Swedish physician Axel Munthe (1857-1949) in his own words, portrayed in a series of not always chronological stories, but always with the central theme of his beloved Roman villa on the isle of Capri. It is a series of overlapping vignettes, roughly but not entirely in chronological order. Da Capo Press; 2nd edition (March 10, 2002). “The Story of San Michele” is one of these. At the age of seventeen, he was on a sailing trip which included a brief visit to the Italian island of Capri. I read an excerpt from this book (the incident about the old lady and her pet bear) as a ten year-old nearly sixty years ago. His decades-long service as personal physician and confidant to the Queen of Sweden is mentioned only in the most oblique terms; at one point, while naming her only as "she who must be mother to a whole nation", he mentions that she regularly brings flowers for the grave of one of her dogs buried at Villa San Michele, at another point, one of his servants is out walking his dogs, and encounters the Queen, who mentions having given the dog to Munthe. I am pleased to see there have been several newly published editions in the past few years so it can be brought to new readership. I was surprised to find it still available, although published in 1929. Munthe often secures help for the families of his poorest patients extending far beyond medical help. The Story of San Michele by Axel Munthe, A Reading for Enjoyment ARJ2 Review by Bobby Matherne file:///N|/GoodMtnPress/sanmiche.shtml[2/11/2013 9:39:07 AM] Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 24, 2013, I have had several copies of this book. It is a series of overlapping vignettes, roughly but not entirely in chronological order. Share. Absurd? Enjoy a short tour of the beautiful Villa San Michele in Anacapri. I read the book before I began a medical career, and am about to read it again 45 years later as I approach the end of it. In 1972 a friend told me about the book "The Story of San Michele" by Axel Munthe and I read it in a very old 1930 edition. His work with a French ambulance corps during the First World War is mentioned only briefly, in connection with the use of hypnotic anaesthesia when no chemical anaesthetics were available – fatally injured soldiers often died with "a smile on their lips, with my hand on their forehead.". dc.title: The Story Of San Michele. It contains reminiscences of many periods of his life. Maybe it is so, for Death is seldom out of my thoughts, "Non nasce in me pensier che non vi sia dentro scolpita la Morte" wrote Michel Angelo to Vasari. Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2017. Paperback $ 16.64. Next time you see a patient with insomnia, rather than prescribe a hypnotic recommend that he or she writes a book. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Fascinating is how I would describe it and very readable. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 26, 2016. $32.99. I was reading another book which made passing reference to Axel Munthe and the Story of San Michele. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Association of Esperanto Book Friends (AELA), Entdeckung der blauen Grotte auf der Insel Capri, Capri Hollywood International Film Festival, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Story_of_San_Michele&oldid=987150552, Articles needing additional references from April 2016, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Vladimir Nabokov mentions a well-thumbed copy of Munthe's, This page was last edited on 5 November 2020, at 06:51. It contains reminiscences of many periods of the author's life. Axel Munthr’s Introduction to the book is almost a short story in itself and he admits that reviewers found it hard to determine to which genre his book belongs. The Story of San Michele has 17 available editions to buy at Half Price Books Marketplace It was the book he spent the most time writing and it contains the story of his life, and, as the title implies, of his home. Book of memoirs by Swedish physician Axel Munthe first published in 1929 by British publisher John Murray. Several of the most prominent figures in Munthe's life are not mentioned in Story of San Michele. This strange magic book isn't easy at all to categorize: not an autobiography nor a sage on philosophy, it is at the same time all that. Please try again. Topic. Genre Biography. The stories cover a wide range in terms of both how serious they are and how literal. The last time was fifty years ago. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. But there are many other reminiscences. Henry James gave that advice to Axel Munthe; it worked, and we now have an exquisite book, The Story of San Michele , that has been translated into 45 languages and was once required reading for medical students. View All Available Formats & Editions. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 10, 2019. Axel Munthr’s Introduction to the book is almost a short story in itself and he admits that reviewers found it hard to determine to which genre his book belongs. He later assisted in the 1884 cholera epidemic in Naples. Concern about the 2010 hardcover edition. A Swedish doctor discovers more about wholeness in medicine when working in Italy. Jan 10, 2021 - An autobiographical book, “The Story of San Michele” by Axel Munthe is as much a story about him as about a chapel called San Michele in the island of … I did not understand some of it at the time, but the bits I understood of the book planted in me the seeds of a lifelong love of reading and the desire to become a full-time author, an ambition I achieved many decades later. He discovers the value of serenity and inner peace when he buys a Roman site on the island of Capri, and makes it a permanent memorial for developing his own interior life. We meet all manner of people, never does Munthe shrink from visiting a sufferer, and we follow him to a residence, where ladies give birth to children they do not wish to keep - he saves the English mother and finds the abandoned child. It is rightfully said to have one of the most magnificent views of any house in the world. The Story of San Michele is a book of memoirs by Swedish physician Axel Munthe (October 31, 1857 – February 11, 1949) first published in 1929 by British publisher John Murray. The Story of San Michele The Story of San Michele is Axel Munthe’s best known work. Full of pathos and humour in equal measure, it is an autobiography based loosely around the restoration of San Michele, some Roman ruins in Capri. This book was recommended on a reading list for pandemics and except for the account of the cholera outbreak in Naples, not much of that applies. Upon my return in Sydney Australia I researched a little more about it and doing so I was steered towards The Story of San Michele. This is the second time I have read this book. With the help of Mastro Nicola and his three sons, and with only a charcoal sketch roughly drawn on a garden wall to guide them, … Axel Munthe was a Swedish doctor who worked for many years in Paris during the late 19th Century. Axel Munthe was a fashionable physician in Paris who built one of the best-loved houses in the world, San Michele, on the Isle of Capri, on the site of the villa of the emperor Tiberius. Feodora Gleichen Axel Martin Fredrik Munthe (31 October 1857 – 11 February 1949) was a Swedish-born medical doctor and psychiatrist, best known as the author of The Story of San Michele, an autobiographical account of his life and work. In the foreword to the Swedish edition, however, Munthe denies that the book is an autobiography. Munthe spent many years working as a doctor in Southern Italy, labouring unstintingly during typhus, cholera and earthquake disasters. Munthe was a true Renaissance man a scientist and doctor as well as a poet who was a friend of Henry James, Somerset Maugham, and others. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 2, 2015. The Story of San Michele has style, wit, humour, great knowledge of the world, mixed with that strange simplicity of mind that is often the attribute of genius., Observer Romantic, realistic, pitiful and enchanting, this is the record of a citadel of the soul ... all fantasy does it seem? Please try again. Some things don’t change. The Story of San Michele by Axel Munthe starting at $0.99. [1], A German-language film adaptation Axel Munthe, The Doctor of San Michele was released in 1962 by Gloria Film. Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2017. Dutton and co. in New York. The novel is the more fascinating because visitors to Anacapri today can visit the house and share Axel Munthe's experience, seeing what he saw, and feeling what he felt. There is enough adventure, disease, disaster, narrow escapes, villains, and ordinary people to make you wonder how Munthe packed it all into a lifetime. His weaving of the story of the house with Italian history, mythology, and culture is reminiscent of 18th- and 19th-century travelogs. Peopled with unforgettable characters, it is as brilliantly enjoyable and readable today as it was upon first publication. The language feels modern and relatable and while it wasn’t a page-turner, I enjoyed it for what it was: a personal heartfelt story and a good example of the art of memoir. Reviews There are no reviews yet. The Story of San Michele. Munthe went to medical school in France and then opened a medical practice in Paris. Please try again. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. Impossible? Munthe also had a medical practice in Rome in order to help pay for construction. I had the great fortune to visit San Michele in Anacapri on the Isle of Capri, off of Naples, Italy, in 1972 and 1976. Finally, Munthe ends up in his ever-expanding villa in Anacapri, an esteemed (Protestant) foreigner, an affable host and ever busy builder of his villa. It contains reminiscences of many periods of his life. I keep lending them to people and never see them again. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. A bestseller in a dozen languages and a favorite of readers for decades, The Story of San Michele is one of a remarkable life filled with fabulous experiences and ambitions. One thing that puzzled me was a Swedish flag floating amongst the Italian flags. I would recommend it to anyone wanting a truly interesting read that in many cases stranger than fiction, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 6, 2011. Finally, an elderly couple in search of their daughter, exposes a horrific medical experiment and Munthe is summarily dismissed from his prestigious appointment. On to a cholera epidemic in Naples, where he confronts fear and seemingly deliberately inflicted death. Munthe was a fashionable physician in Paris who built one of the best-loved houses in the world - San Michele - on the Isle of Capri, on the site of the villa of the emperor Tiberius. The original 1929 book, which has sold millions, has been translated into 30 languages, and is one of the most loved books of the 20 th century. And one of these bells might just be a big reason I am here on Earth today. In 1972 a friend told me about the book "The Story of San Michele" by Axel Munthe and I read it in a very old 1930 edition. Hardcover. Edition Notes Reminiscences "Sixteenth printing, July 1930." The Story of San Michele has 32 chapters, approximately 368 pages. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. This book was written in 1929, so although the writer's altruistic nature, humanity, humour and wisdom are much evident, the style is inevitably a bit dated. The Story of San Michele (Paperback) Published November 8th 2004 by John Murray Publishers Ltd. It was during this period that he came across the ruined Tiberian villa of San Michele, perched high above the glittering Bay of Naples on Capri. [2], As with any work, not everyone liked it; publisher Kurt Wolff wrote. So I thought I would revisit, not disappointed at all. Edition language: English isolated people and their stories was an unabashed animal lover and. Here is a companion book languages and has been republished constantly in the 1884 cholera epidemic in.. On Earth today Tiberius ' Villa series of overlapping vignettes, roughly not... Very readable or she writes a book of memoirs by Swedish physician Axel Munthe begins his autobiography a... On March 10, 2002 ) many editions have been sold or how many editions been! 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