G. F. Rodwell (1843 1905) was researching an entry about Mount Etna for the Encyclopaedia Britannica when he realised that no history of this Italian volcano existed in English. He therefore he began the present work, which was published in 1878. Rodwell starts by looking at classical and literary references before giving a detailed physical description of the volcano. One chapter is devoted to explaining how to climb the mountain something Rodwell was qualified to do, as he had scaled it himself in 1877. He also gives a historical account of the most dramatic aspect of Etna its many...