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Jacob of Ancona (or Jacob d'Ancona) is the name that has been given to the supposed author of a book of travels, purportedly made by a scholarly Jewish merchant who wrote in vernacular Italian.

The narrative contains political debates about the future of the city in which he engaged with the aid of a translator of mixed Italian and Chinese ancestry.

Whether the text is legitimate or David Selbourne is a genius novelist, "City of Light" immerses you in the life and daily experiences of Jacob of Ancona

Whether the text is legitimate or David Selbourne is a genius novelist, "City of Light" immerses you in the life and daily experiences of Jacob of Ancona. You travel in his boat as he sails through pirate-infested waters pondering the exotic lands he encounters and his own metaphysical doubts. What most amazed me about the story is that I myself am a Jewish business man based in China, and that my current experiences are surprisingly similar to those of Jacob.

The book tells of a journey of a thirteenth-century Jewish merchant from Ancona in Italy to the City of Light in China in an attempt to restore his family's fortunes. The narrative informs the reader about contemporary travel arrangements, trade and (in particular Chinese) society.

The City of Light book. In 1270, a scholarly Jewish merchant named Jacob d'Ancona set out on a voyage from Italy. In 1270, a scholarly Jewish merchant named Jacob d'Ancona set out. A year later, he arrived in China at the coastal metropolis of Zaitun, the City of Light (now known as Quanzhou), four years before Marco Polo arrived in Xanadu in 1275. Nothing was known of this epochal journey until 1990, when David Selbourne found a remarkable manuscript that had b In 1270, a scholarly Jewish merchant named Jacob d'Ancona set out on a voyage from Italy.

The Italian manuscript from which David Selbourne, an Englishman residing in Italy, professed to have made his translation, published as The City of Light: The Hidden Journal of the Man Who Entered China Four Years Before Marco Polo, has not come to light, even in photocopies; its possessor still remains anonymous. Selbourne asserts that "provenance and rights of ownership over it are unclear," motivating its owner's desire for anonymity. In 1997, Little, Brown and Company was prepared to publish the diary, under the title The City of Light in the United States.

It was strongly championed by Melanie Phillips in the Sunday Times of 18 October.

Jacob of Ancona" is the name that has been given to the supposed .

The Italian manuscript from which David Selbourne, an Englishman residing in Italy, professed to have made his translation, published as "The City of Light: The Hidden Journal of the Man Who Entered China Four Years Before Marco Polo", has not come to light, even in photocopies; its possessor still remains anonymous.

David Selbourne is a distinguished academic who held a British Commonwealth Fellowship at the University of Chicago and has taught at Ruskin College, Oxford

David Selbourne is a distinguished academic who held a British Commonwealth Fellowship at the University of Chicago and has taught at Ruskin College, Oxford. He is the author of a distinguished work of political philosophy, The Principle of Duty. He lives in Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. About the Author: David Selbourne was educated at Manchester Grammar School and Oxford and for two decades taught at Ruskin College, Oxford.

The City of Light brings spectacularly to life d'Ancona's encounter with one of. .

The City of Light brings spectacularly to life d'Ancona's encounter with one of the world's great civilizations. In 1270 a scholarly Jewish merchant called Jacob d'Ancona set out on a voyage from Italy. A year later, he arrived in China at the coastal metropolis of Zaitun, the "City of Light" (now known as Quanzhou), four years before Marco Polo arrived at Xanadu in 1275.

Jacob d'Ancona's participation as a foreign trader in the grand civic debates shed light on the relationship of Jews and Christians and the role of the individual in society.