Johnston, Shirley and Anthony Cassar de Sain — Splendor of Malta

New York, Rizzoli, 2001. Hardcover. Black cloth boards with red spine lettering, bw-photographic end papers. Glossy color-illustrated dust jacket with red and white lettering. 228 pp. Mainly color illustrations. Maps. "..At once firmly lodged in the events of history and in the present lives of its people, Malta encompasses yet a greater sphere: it lives within our imaginations, within our minds-- if hidden just beneath the surface, beneath a mottled and dull layer of tarnish, waiting for the polish of our author's hand. This volume, written by Shirley Jackewicz Johnston and illustrated with lavish full color photography by the late Marquess Anthony Cassar de Sain, is an excursion into this sphere. With a soft yet powerful cloth of deliberate and painstaking research, Johnston reveals the glowing embroilment of bishops and grand masters-- one vies to build a fabulous palace reaching towards the heavens, as another seeks to prevent it, an obstruction to his view and an implied infringement on his authority. Indeed, from a consideration of its architecture, of what was built and of what was not built, much of the collective spirit, will, imagination, and history of Malta can be gleaned. We should note, however: "This is not a history book," as the author tells us, "but history is firmly rooted in just about everything in Malta, including its remarkable architecture." -Jacket. VG/VG- light wear to dj edges .