GIOVANNI BATTISTA BELZONI
I was a romance reader for many years before I became a writer, so I confess to my share of heavy sighs over a romantic hero—but it was as I was writing An Improper Aristocrat that I experienced my first fascination with a real-life historical figure. I thought I would share a little information about Giovanni Battista Belzoni, so you could marvel over him too!
Now, I’m not talking about swooning over his looks. He was happily married, often dressed as a Turk and was literally a giant—six feet, six inches—too tall for a vertically challenged girl like me. But I was simply floored by all that he accomplished in his too-short life.
Born to a barber in Padua, one of thirteen children, Belzoni was driven from his home by Napoleon’s forces. He roamed Europe, eventually finding his way to the British Isles, where he put his height and strength to good use performing as a strong man in fairs and theaters all over the United Kingdom, including Sadler’s Wells and Astley’s Amphitheater. For ten years he traveled, devising aquatic marvels, conjuring, and learning optical illusions, but he was most famous for his amazing feats of strength.
A chance meeting led him to Egypt, where he lived for a year in the gardens of the Pasha, building an irrigation system to deliver water from the Nile. On the fateful demonstration day, his creation was a success, but a chance accident to a laborer convinced the Pasha not to adopt it—as it had clearly tried to kill a man!
Undeterred, Belzoni contracted with the English consul in Egypt to find antiquities for the British museum. He did just that—and he also dug out the massive head of Young Memnon, excavated the temple of Abu Simbel, discovered six tombs in the Valley of the Kings, found the hidden entrance to the Second Pyramid of Giza and performed many more amazing feats. He became a celebrity, returned to England, wrote a book, went into society and was invited to Almacks.
I was so fascinated by Belzoni’s accomplishments that I made him a minor character in An Improper Aristocrat. I invite you to meet him there, to look further into his intriguing life, and perhaps to nurture a little crush of your own!
Now, I’m not talking about swooning over his looks. He was happily married, often dressed as a Turk and was literally a giant—six feet, six inches—too tall for a vertically challenged girl like me. But I was simply floored by all that he accomplished in his too-short life.
Born to a barber in Padua, one of thirteen children, Belzoni was driven from his home by Napoleon’s forces. He roamed Europe, eventually finding his way to the British Isles, where he put his height and strength to good use performing as a strong man in fairs and theaters all over the United Kingdom, including Sadler’s Wells and Astley’s Amphitheater. For ten years he traveled, devising aquatic marvels, conjuring, and learning optical illusions, but he was most famous for his amazing feats of strength.
A chance meeting led him to Egypt, where he lived for a year in the gardens of the Pasha, building an irrigation system to deliver water from the Nile. On the fateful demonstration day, his creation was a success, but a chance accident to a laborer convinced the Pasha not to adopt it—as it had clearly tried to kill a man!
Undeterred, Belzoni contracted with the English consul in Egypt to find antiquities for the British museum. He did just that—and he also dug out the massive head of Young Memnon, excavated the temple of Abu Simbel, discovered six tombs in the Valley of the Kings, found the hidden entrance to the Second Pyramid of Giza and performed many more amazing feats. He became a celebrity, returned to England, wrote a book, went into society and was invited to Almacks.
I was so fascinated by Belzoni’s accomplishments that I made him a minor character in An Improper Aristocrat. I invite you to meet him there, to look further into his intriguing life, and perhaps to nurture a little crush of your own!
