The Hero Schliemann: The Dreamer Who Dug for Troy
Archaeologist? Mythmaker? Crook? This engaging, illustrated biography of Heinrich Schliemann — a nineteenth-century romantic who most believe did find the ancient city of Troy — reveals him to be a fascinating mixture of all three.
From the time Schliemann was a boy (or so he said) he knew fate had destined him to dig for lost cities and find buried treasure. And if Schliemann had his way, history books would honor him as one of the greatest archaeologists who ever lived.
But a little digging into Schliemann’s life reveals that he had a funny penchant for taking liberties with the truth. Like the famous character of his hero, the poet Homer, Schliemann was a crafty fellow and an inventor of stories. He was a traveler who faced shipwreck and stranding and somehow survived. And Heinrich Schliemann was determined to become a legend just like Homer was in his day.
Laura Schlitz weaves historical facts among Schliemann’s fanciful recollections, while Robert Byrd’s illustrations evoke his life with wonderful detail. Along the way, this book presents food for discussion about how society remembers history — and the need to sometimes re-examine it.
- About the author: Laura Amy Schlitz is an American author of children’s literature. She is a librarian and storyteller at the Park School of Baltimore in Brooklandville, Maryland.
