Adventurer, self-made man, archaeologist – a gripping psychological novel about one of the nineteenth century’s biggest celebrities
When young Heinrich hears about the «Iliad» for the first time, he has no idea that this book will shape his entire future: one day, the pastor’s son who grew up in a small village and lost himself in dreams to escape his father’s beatings, will become world-famous Heinrich Schliemann, the man who discovers Troy and founder of the modern discipline of archaeology. As a merchant, he is almost constantly on the road and the high seas, travelling to Amsterdam, Saint Petersburg, Sacramento and Panama – and to Greece, where he feverishly searches for Odysseus’s legendary palace.
In this entertaining and witty novel, Sander paints a portrait of this extraordinary man on the hunt and his tumultuous life – opulent, sensuous and gripping.
• For fans of Daniel Kehlmann and Nelio Biedermann