The story of San Michele

Beskrivning

Titel: The story of San Michele
Författare: Axel Munthe
Förlag: Johan Murray
Utgivningsår: 1934
Bandtyp: Inbunden, klotband.
Skick: Gott skick – gulnade och fläckade pärmar och rygg; veckade , något nötta ryggändar; böjda, något nötta hörn; gulnade snitt; något gulnad inlaga; namnad på försättsblad och första titelbladet; etikett från ursprungliga bokhandeln (i Kairo) på främre pärmens insida.

Förlag: London, John Murray, Albemarle Street, W.

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. Written in English, it was a bestseller in numerous languages and has been republished constantly in the nine decades since its original release.

It contains reminiscences of many periods of his life. 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. He also associated with the very poorest of people, including Italian immigrants in Paris and plague victims in Naples, as well as rural people such as the residents of Capri, and the Nordic Lapplanders. He was an unabashed animal lover, and animals figure prominently in several stories.

The stories cover a wide range in terms of both how serious they are and how literal. 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. At no point does Munthe seem to take himself particularly seriously, but some of the things he discusses are very serious, such as his descriptions of rabies research in Paris, including euthanasia of human patients, and a suicide attempt by a man convinced he had been exposed to the disease.