The story of how the unlikeable and unliked Scottish peer brought back the Parthenon's treasures to London, and his imprisonment by Napoleon while travelling home through France, makes absorbing reading and is told with real flair. It is not a pretty tale in itself, but Elgin seemingly was guided largely by patriotic motives, and he had the support of most of the leading English artists of the time. This updated volume includes a supplementary chapter in which serious charges are levelled against the British Museum for its stewardship of the marbles - particularly in the 1930s, when they are alleged to have suffered serious damage.