"'Sensational... a tale of pure, absorbing delightfulness. Like the literary love-child of Eco and Baedeker, he delights and informs in equal measure.' Sunday Telegraph 'The city prevails on every page... literally breathtaking.' Shirley Hazzard, New York Times 'The overwhelming sense of a man in love with his adopted city of Naples.' East Anglian Daily Times In a beautifully written personal memoir Dan Hostadter offers a memorable portrait of the city 'under a volcano': 'brilliant on the theatre of everyday life in Naples' (Sunday Telegraph)."

Dan Hofstadter is the author of three previous books, most recently The Love Affair as a Work of Art. He lives in the United States and was for right years a regular contributor to The New Yorker.