Description

Jane Ellen Harrison 18501928 is the most famous female Classicist in history the author of books that revolutionized our understanding of Greek culture and religion A star in the British academic world she became the quintessential Cambridge womanas Virginia Woolf suggested when in A Room of Ones Own she claims to have glimpsed Harrisons ghost in the college gardens

This lively and innovative portrayal of a fascinating woman raises the question of who wins and how in the competition for academic fame Mary Beard captures Harrisons ability to create her own image And she contrasts her story with that of Eugnie Sellers Strong a younger contemporary and onetime intimate the author of major work on Roman art and once a glittering figure at the British School in Romebut who lost the race for renown The setting for the story of Harrisons career is Classical scholarship in this periodits internal arguments and allegiances and especially the influence of the anthropological strain most strikingly exemplified by Sir James Frazer Questioning the common criteria for identifying intellectual influence and movements Beard exposes the mythology that is embedded in the history of Classics At the same time she provides a vivid picture of a sparkling intellectual scene The Invention of Jane Harrison offers shrewd history and undiluted fun