The New Élite

Extract

Autumn brings the new season's travel brochures thick and fast upon us, glossy and alluring; and none more enticing than those which invite us to cruise to classical lands. With word and picture they set us day-dreaming of a thousand sights to be seen, of picnic lunch among spring flowers and fallen columns, of bathing in azure waters, exotic local dishes, and the final, farewell dinner at sea. They wield the magic of place-names with almost Miltonic skill: Tarquinia and Paestum, Palermo and Tripoli; Athens, of course—Athens above all; and Delphi, too, and the Cyclades, Samos, and Troy; even Jerusalem and Baalbek.