Colour
Travels Through the Paintbox
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Colour
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Narrated by:
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Victoria Finlay
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By:
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Victoria Finlay
About this listen
On a journey that takes her from Afghanistan, to the Australian outback, to ancient caves in China, and the saffron harvest in Spain, Victoria Finlay gives an extraordinary and compelling account of the history of colour.
Colour unlocks the history of the colours of the rainbow, and reveals how paints came to be invented, discovered, traded and used. This remarkable and beautifully written book, part travelogue part narrative history, remembers a time when red paint was really the colour of blood, when orange was the poison pigment, blue as expensive as gold and yellow made from the urine of cows force-fed with mangoes. It looks at how green was carried by yaks along the silk road, and how an entire nation was founded on the colour purple.
Exciting, richly informative and always surprising, Colour lifts the lid on the historical palette and unearths an astonishing wealth of stories about the quest for colours, and our efforts to understand them.
©2002 Victoria Finlay (P)2002 Hodder & Stoughton LimitedListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"A rare and wonderful book... I could not be more enthusiastic." (Simon Winchester)
"A treasure trove of human history and obsession...the breadth of research and insight is dazzling." (Glasgow Herald)
"A highly companionable guide, adventurous and romantic." (Independent on Sunday)
What listeners say about Colour
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- isabel b
- 26-01-23
Wonderful and beginning
Fascinating and beautifully researched, Victoria has ranged the planet on an amazing quest to illuminate the world of colour
Her adventures are thrilling and her sense of humour and appreciation for the ridiculous are infectious.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- S. W. Burgess
- 18-03-23
Fascinating
Fascinating stories of where colours are from, a subject I had never considered until I came across this book. I will certainly read (or listen to) others that she has written.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Joseph
- 21-02-24
a new way to see the world
brilliant story that's ignites passion in the most mundane daily sights, well worth a listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Celia Fitzgerald
- 26-03-24
Fabulous art history, chemistry, political history, biology and physics all in one fascinating package
This is a compelling and instructive book. For instance, who knew that the supreme scientist Isaac Newton decided to give the rainbow two blues because he found six to be an uninspiring number whereas seven was magical?
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