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The Rome Plague Diaries

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The Rome Plague Diaries

By: Matthew Kneale
Narrated by: Stephen Perring
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About this listen

A warm and affectionate portrait of a city and a people under lockdown during the Covid-19 crisis, from the award-winning and Sunday Times best-selling author of Rome: A History in Seven Sackings.

On the first morning of Rome's Covid-19 lockdown Matthew Kneale felt an urge to connect with friends and acquaintances and began writing an email, describing where he was, what was happening and what it felt like, and sent it to everyone he could think of. He was soon composing daily reports as he tried to comprehend a period of time when everyone's lives suddenly changed and Italy struggled against an epidemic that was so strange, so troubling and so fascinating that he found it impossible to think about anything else.

Having lived in Rome for 18 years, Matthew has grown to know the capital and its citizens well and this collection of brilliant diary pieces connects what he has learned about the city with this extraordinary, anxious moment, revealing the Romans through the intense prism of the coronavirus crisis.

©2021 Matthew Kneale (P)2021 W F Howes Rome Italy
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It's a wonderful book for Rome lovers. It's not just about the pandemic year, but about the Trastevere and Testaccio neighborhoods, Roman history and food etc.

However, I wish Audible would not force a detailed review. I hope this requirement will be dropped.

Very much enjoyed this book!

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Pity that the narrator’s command of Italian pronunciation is rather limited- it detracts from much of the detail that people who know Rome will enjoy.

Fascinating daily account of how lockdown unfolded in the Italian capital.

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