Briefly Noted

Eugénie Sellers Strong: Portrait of an Archaeologist

Stephen L. Dyson (London: Duckworth, 2004) 288 PP., $44.95

Eugénie Sellers Strong (1860–1943) parlayed her keen intelligence, drive and exquisite pre-Raphaelite beauty (Oscar Wilde called her “a young Diana”) into a distinguished career as a classical archaeologist. After graduating from Cambridge—one of the first women in England to receive a university degree—she went on to become the assistant director of the British School at Rome. She was among the first to champion Roman sculpture as more than a pallid reflection of Greek works. But Strong’s legacy has been clouded by her respect for Mussolini’s Fascist regime and its support of ancient Roman archaeology.

Breaking Ground: Pioneering Women Archaeologists