Colour

Part travelogue, part narrative history, 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 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.

“[Victoria Finlay's] curiosity is inexhaustible, her reading wide, and her writing style a delight - Sunday TelegraphIt's pure pleasure to join this gutsy arts reporter-cum-scholar on her quest for historical pigments and dyes around the world - IndependentA highly companionable guide, adventurous and romantic - Independent on SundayA treasure trove of human history and obsession...the breadth of research and insight is dazzling. - The Glasgow HeraldThis is a rare and wonderful book - a model of erudition and charm, the writing elegant and precise, and with at least one new and fascinating revelation on every single page. I could not be more enthusiastic. - Simon Winchester, author of THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMANPacked with stories, anecdotes and adventures. A full rainbow ... as vivid as the colours themselves - ExpressYou get your money's worth and change to spare ... Both picaresque and picturesque, it's a rich read. - Evening StandardIt's hard to criticise her spirit of cultural exploration and easy to share her intelligent enthusiasm . . .Packed with pertinent trivia . . . informative and fun - South China Morning Post”

[Victoria Finlay's] curiosity is inexhaustible, her reading wide, and her writing style a delight - Sunday Telegraph

It's pure pleasure to join this gutsy arts reporter-cum-scholar on her quest for historical pigments and dyes around the world - Independent

A highly companionable guide, adventurous and romantic - Independent on Sunday

A treasure trove of human history and obsession...the breadth of research and insight is dazzling. - The Glasgow Herald

This is a rare and wonderful book - a model of erudition and charm, the writing elegant and precise, and with at least one new and fascinating revelation on every single page. I could not be more enthusiastic. - Simon Winchester, author of THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN

Packed with stories, anecdotes and adventures. A full rainbow ... as vivid as the colours themselves - Express

You get your money's worth and change to spare ... Both picaresque and picturesque, it's a rich read. - Evening Standard

It's hard to criticise her spirit of cultural exploration and easy to share her intelligent enthusiasm . . .Packed with pertinent trivia . . . informative and fun - South China Morning Post

Victoria Finlay studied social anthropology at St Andrews University, specialising in Asian culture. She worked as a journalist in Hong Kong for eleven years, five of which were spent as arts editor for the South China Morning Post.

Part travelogue, part narrative history, 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 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.

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