A gorgeous and evocative piece of scholarship on the history of Capri and its most eccentric and infamous residents.

Part erudite travelogue, part cultural scholarship, Pagan Light is a history both human and geographic, oft highlighting how each influenced the other.

James writes beautifully and thoroughly, with the poignant socio-contextual eye of Simon Schama and the wry, subtle tone of Stacy Schiff.

Historical figures both familiar and esoteric come to life under James’ exacting lens. Though it requires some scholarly interest in both Italy and the poets, writers, artists, and other personages who populate the book, it still reads accessibly.

One final note: I was deeply disappointed to see so many fellow reviewers disparaging this book in a way that radiates bigotry and intolerance. The homophobia expressed in far too many reviews would be hilarious if it wasn’t so very sad.

If you simply do not care for a book or its subject matter, that is fine. But to criticize an author for reporting facts simply because those facts make you uncomfortable makes you an irresponsible and untrustworthy reviewer.

Most of the reviews that skewed this way mentioned that the reviewer chose the book “because of the pretty cover.” I hope that this sort of foolishness does not affect the book’s rating too much, because it is an absolute gem.

I requested an advanced reader copy of Jamie James' Pagan Light because I liked the cover and because the idea of a literary study about this beautiful island sounded very interesting.
I am a regular visitor of Italy and have had the pleasure of visiting Capri in the past. I guess I expected more of an interesting travelogue about Capri and it's past.

Well, this book for me proved that there is truth in the expression that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover.
The colourful cover and the description had raised expectations which were not met while reading the book.

To start with the positive elements in the book I think that the author writes well and did an excellent job in research.

Despite this, I found almost all the story's about the people who stayed on Capri rather tedious and I think there was far to much emphasis on the homosexual visitor's of Capri. I can not believe that there haven't been heterosexual visitor's to Capri who were just as interesting.
Furthermore I found the book had no clear storyline and it just meandered from one anecdote to another.

Maybe the book is more interesting if you have a special interest in some of the people described in the book.
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I had great difficulty finishing the book because it just didn't hold my interest.

I want to thank Netgalley for giving me a review copy of this book for an honest review

I requested this book because I fell in love with Capri and was happy to see a book about this wonderful place.
The book is amazing, well written and engaging.
You meet a lot of the historical characters who lived there when it was a paradise for people who were outcasted for political or sexual reasons.
The pagan word in the title refers to the atmosphere that is on the island has no religious meaning.
It's an amazing well researched trip that makes you crave for going there.
I look forward to reading other books by this writer.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Netgalley for this ARC

This sounded really interesting but I just couldn't get in to it. It was a long, hard slog. It is a history book but it just didn't grab me.

I also thought there would be mentions of witches because of the title. I like the cover but that is all.

If I hadn't received a review copy then I wouldn't have finished it.

I'm sure that if you have a stronger interest in the history of homosexuality with young boys or the quirky patrons of Capri through time then you would rate it more highly.