Schliemann's attitude toward the women in his life may prove offensive to some readers. A man obsessed with finding the original site of Troy, Schliemann is depicted as having a somewhat proprietary air toward women. Throughout his life, Schliemann set goals—the acquisition of language skills, the accumulation of wealth, the discovery of ancient tombs and cities—and almost invariably succeeded in his pursuits. Braymer portrays Schliemann's quest for a suitable wife as no different from his other quests. Schliemann's assumption that Minna will be his for the asking, despite their fourteen-year separation, points up the often self-centered nature of his thinking. Singleminded determination made Schliemann a great success in business and archeology, but initially less successful in his personal life.

At one point Braymer writes that Schliemann "could have had his choice of beautiful and eligible women in half a dozen countries, but...