Andrea di Robilant was born in Italy and educated at Columbia University, where he specialized in international affairs. He is the author of A Venetian Affair, Lucia: A Venetian Life in the Age of Napoleon, and Irresistible North: From Venice to Greenland on the Trail of the Zen Brothers. He lives in Rome.
"The hero of this tale is a nameless Chinese rose growing in Italy.
The plot--part mystery, part quest--seeks to uncover its identity.
The supporting characters--among them Empress Josephine--are an
array of passionate, endearing breeders and collectors. The result
is a delightful hybrid of history and horticulture that traces a
single flower's journey halfway across the world. Di Robilant
reveals that a rose is not only a rose, but an enigma whose beauty
both roots us to the past and springs eternal."--Jhumpa Lahiri
"Reading Chasing the Rose is like taking a walk through a beautiful
park. Together with the pleasure of the walk itself, you realize
slowly that you are taking in the beauty and the fragrance of the
plantings and their clever arrangement. You are being led gently by
a knowledgeable and discreet guide who wears his learning lightly
and manages to make this search for a flower into much more: the
pursuit of beauty in life, a slice of history, the exploration of a
subculture and of self-discovery."
--Alexander Stille "Illustrated throughout with charming
watercolors, Di Robilant's is a unique exploration of how human
history often leaves its imprint in the most unexpected of
places.
A quiet country pleasure."--Kirkus Reviews
"Fear not--let your eyes glaze over through the Latin-studded rose
begats--and glean the tantalizing and titillating bits of history
behind them that you won't find in any school books."--Richard
Frisbee, New York Journal of Books
"Di Robilant takes readers on a gentle meander in this memoir
inspired by a rose he discovered while researching the biography of
his great-great-great-great-grandmother, Lucia Mocenigo, a friend
of Josephine Bonaparte, which became A Venetian Affair (2003)...
History and anecdote abound on this entertaining journey with di
Robilant on his quest to get the rose officially named by the
American Rose Society."--Publishers Weekly "Di Robilant's quest
leads him to Josephine Bonaparte's rose gardens, the China trade,
rose smuggling during the Napoleonic wars, the disappearance of
"old roses" in the 19th century and their rediscovery in the 20th.
He considers orphan roses, natural hybrids and the politics of
registering and naming roses today. . . Written and illustrated in
a style reminiscent of Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence, Chasing
the Rose is a charming account of a modern obsession and its
historical roots."--Pamela Toler, Shelf Awareness
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