New Releases by John Julius Norwich

The Four Men Who Decided the Fate of a Continent. Four great princes were born within the space of a decade: Henry VIII of England, Francis I of France, Charles V of Germany and I of Spain, and Suleiman the Magnificent. All of them left a profound mark on the history of their kingdoms. They could not have been more different from one another, but together, they ruled the world. At the beginning of the 16th century, an era marked by the Renaissance, the beginnings of Protestantism, the Wars of Religion, and the expansion of Western dominion toward the Atlantic, these four kings, sometimes allies, often enemies, and always rivals, laid the foundations for modern Europe. From the scandals of Henry VIII's six wives to the monasticism of Charles V; from the Field of the Cloth of Gold, the splendid gathering of tournaments, feasts, and balls so lavish it nearly emptied the coffers of France and England, to the celebratory pyramid that Suleiman erected with two thousand human heads after the Battle of Mohács; from the From the six-fingered hand of Anne Boleyn, a supposed sign of her condition as a witch, to the true story of the Maltese falcon, historian John Julius Norwich offers us in Four Princes a fascinating story of stories through the lives of these four magnificent monarchs and their reigns, which changed the destiny of the European continent.

A fascinating journey through the history of the most enigmatic island in the Mediterranean. Goethe said: "Sicily is the key to everything." The Italian island, the largest in the Mediterranean, is the bridge between Europe and Africa, the gateway between East and West. Its strategic location has made it coveted by Roman emperors, French princes, and Spanish kings over the centuries, and conflicts between its inhabitants and foreign powers have played a crucial role in the rise and fall of some of the world's most powerful dynasties. Yet, Sicily has gone almost unnoticed in the annals of history. In this volume, the result of his fascination with the island, John Julius Norwich offers us a thrilling journey through Sicily's turbulent past. From its beginnings as a Greek city-state to its emergence as a center of multicultural trade during the Crusades, to its many rebellions against its oppressors, Sicily's history is filled with extraordinary moments and remarkable figures, including the Normans, Charles III, Nelson and Lady Hamilton, Garibaldi, Mussolini, and Cosa Nostra. With his usual skill, elegance, and humor, Norwich delivers a masterful account of one of the world's most diverse and interesting islands.

In 1969, John Julius Norwich, the legendary popular historian, gathered together the favourite things he'd come across in the last 365 days into one short charming pamphlet. Initially just a treat for his friends, it rapidly turned into a huge word-of-mouth success. And soon the arrival of John Julius Norwich's latest 'Christmas Cracker' became as essential a part of the English Christmas experience as holly and mistletoe. Norwich had a brilliant eye for a story and telling detail, and his Crackers are full of jokes, warmth and wit. Here in one bumper book is his final and 50th Christmas Cracker, alongside all the very best bits as picked out by his daughter Artemis Cooper. This is the perfect Christmas gift.

Evropské 16. století bylo převratným věkem, kdy se díky zámořským objevům rozšiřoval horizont Evropanům známého světa, reformace změnila náboženskou i politickou mapu kontinentu a v končící nádheře „podzimu středověku“ se již ohlašoval nový věk. Kniha známého britského autora sleduje tuto barvitou éru z perspektivy čtyř výjimečných panovnických osobností. Anglický král Jindřich VIII., milovník rytířské pompy a válečných tažení, uskutečnil roztržku Anglie s Římem a proslulým se stal také pro svých šest žen, z nichž dvě skončily na popravišti. Francouzský král František I. byl prototypem renesančního vladaře, milovníkem umění i žen, a jeho srdce se upíralo k italskému Milánu. Habsburský císař Karel V. a osmanský sultán Sulejman Nádherný se oprávněně mohli navzájem podezírat z touhy po světovládě. Společně psali dějiny Evropy i světa.

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La Sicile est au carrefour de l'histoire du monde. Dans un récit vivant et érudit, John Julius Norwich narre le tumultueux destin de cette île fascinante, et des tyrans, des monarques et des reines remarquables qui ont combattu pour la dominer. La Sicile est la plus grande île de la Méditerranée, le relais entre l'Europe et l'Afrique, le lien entre l'Occident latin et l'Orient grec. Sa situation stratégique a tenté les empereurs romains, les princes français et les rois espagnols. Les luttes qui s'en sont suivies pour la conquérir et la garder ont joué un rôle crucial dans l'essor et le déclin des dynasties les plus puissantes du monde. Le récit palpitant de John Julius Norwich est le premier à nouer ensemble les fils de l'histoire sicilienne dans une seule étude globale. De ses débuts comme cité-Etat grecque à son émergence comme carrefour commercial multiculturel pendant les croisades, et de la rébellion contre l'unification italienne à l'essor de la mafia, l'histoire de la Sicile est riche de moments extraordinaires et de personnages spectaculaires.

Renowned historian John Julius Norwich has created a brilliant portrait of four dynamic rulers--all born in the last decade of the 15th century--who collectively shaped modern Europe and the Middle East

'For his final book, the late Norwich tackled the dauntingly vast subject of two millennia of French history with admirable lightness and urbanity . . . his comic footnotes deserve a review of their own' DAILY TELEGRAPH I can still feel, as if it were yesterday, the excitement of my first Channel crossing (as a child of nearly 7) in September 1936; the regiment of porters, smelling asphyxiatingly of garlic in their blue-green blousons; the raucous sound all around me of spoken French; the immense fields of Normandy strangely devoid of hedges; then the Gare du Nord at twilight, the policemen with their képis and their little snow-white batons; and my first sight of the Eiffel Tower . . . This book is written in the belief that the average English-speaking man or woman has remarkably little knowledge of French history. We may know a bit about Napoleon or Joan of Arc or Louis XIV, but for most of us that's about it. In my own three schools we were taught only about the battles we won: Crécy and Poitiers, Agincourt and Waterloo. The rest was silence. So here is my attempt to fill in the blanks . . . John Julius Norwich's last book is the book he always wanted to write: the extremely colourful story of the country he loves best. From frowning Roman generals and belligerent Gallic chieftains, to Charlemagne (hated by generations of French children taught that he invented schools) through Marie Antoinette and the storming of the Bastille to Vichy, the Resistance and beyond, FRANCE is packed with heroes and villains, adventures and battles, romance and revolution. Full of memorable stories and racy anecdotes, this is the perfect introduction to the country that has inspired the rest of the world to live, dress, eat -- and love better.

Mitreißend und elegant erzählt John Julius Norwich die turbulente Geschichte der »Königin der Inseln«, die ein einzigartiges Kaleidoskop der Völker und Kulturen war und ist. Unterhaltsam führt er uns durch die Jahrtausende, in denen Sizilien im Brennpunkt der Weltgeschichte stand. Sizilien: die größte Insel des Mittelmeers, die Schwelle zwischen Europa und Afrika, Bindeglied zwischen dem lateinischen Westen und dem griechischen Osten. Ihre einzigartige strategische Lage lockte Phönizier, Griechen, Römer, Araber und Normannen, französische Fürsten und spanische Könige. Die Kämpfe um die Insel spielten für den Aufstieg und Fall der mächtigsten Dynastien der Welt eine Schlüsselrolle. Erstmals verknüpft John Julius Norwich all die bunten Fäden der sizilianischen Geschichte zu einer umfassenden Darstellung und führt die Leser durch die Jahrtausende. Von ihren Anfängen in der Antike bis zu ihrem Aufstieg zur multikulturellen Drehscheibe des Handels während der Kreuzzüge, vom Widerstand gegen die Vereinigung mit Italien bis zum Aufkommen der Mafia ist die Insel reich an weltgeschichtlichen Ereignissen und dramatischen Persönlichkeiten. Wie die Insel selbst, ist dies ein Buch voller kräftiger Farben und Aromen, das man immer wieder zur Hand nehmen möchte.

Critically acclaimed author John Julius Norwich weaves the turbulent story of Sicily into a spellbinding narrative that places the island at the crossroads of world history. “Sicily,” said Goethe, “is the key to everything.” It is the largest island in the Mediterranean, the stepping-stone between Europe and Africa, the link between the Latin West and the Greek East. Sicily’s strategic location has tempted Roman emperors, French princes, and Spanish kings. The subsequent struggles to conquer and keep it have played crucial roles in the rise and fall of the world’s most powerful dynasties. Yet Sicily has often been little more than a footnote in books about other empires. John Julius Norwich’s engrossing narrative is the first to knit together all of the colorful strands of Sicilian history into a single comprehensive study. Here is a vivid, erudite, page-turning chronicle of an island and the remarkable kings, queens, and tyrants who fought to rule it. From its beginnings as a Greek city-state to its emergence as a multicultural trading hub during the Crusades, from the rebellion against Italian unification to the rise of the Mafia, the story of Sicily is rich with extraordinary moments and dramatic characters. Writing with his customary deftness and humor, Norwich outlines the surprising influence Sicily has had on world history—the Romans’ fascination with Greek civilization dates back to their sack of Sicily—and tells the story of one of the world’s most kaleidoscopic cultures in a galvanizing, contemporary way. This volume has been a long time coming—Norwich began to explore Sicily’s colorful history during his first visit to the island in the early 1960s. The dean of popular historians leads his readers through the millennia with the steady narrative hand of a master teacher or the world’s most learned tour guide. Like the island itself, Sicily is a book brimming with bold flavors that begs to be revisited again and again. Praise for Sicily “Suavely readable . . . The very model of a popular historian, [Norwich] writes to give pleasure to the common reader. And what pleasure it is.”—The Wall Street Journal “Entertaining on every page . . . There is something ancient and sorrowful in Sicily, ‘some dark, brooding quality,’ just as captivating as its spellbinding history or its beautiful and varied landscapes, from beaches to lemon groves, pine forests to volcanoes. . . . The most amiable and freewheeling of guides, Norwich will always find time for the amusing anecdote.”—The Sunday Times “Utterly engrossing . . . written with passion about the art and architecture of this magical island, filled with gossipy tidbits and sweeping historical theories.”—The Daily Beast “Dazzling . . . Norwich is an elegantly graceful and entertaining storyteller.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch “Charming . . . richly nuanced history relayed with enormous fondness.”—Kirkus Reviews “A brisk and always-lively tour.”—Open Letters Monthly “Norwich is deeply in love with Sicily. [His] boundless affection has inspired a determined effort to understand its painful past. The result is impressionistic, as love often is.”—The Times “Norwich sketches personalities vividly. . . . He does the island and the reader a generous service in providing such an amiable introduction.”—The Sunday Telegraph “Norwich tells [Sicily’s] long, sad but fascinating story with sympathy and brio.”—Literary Review

When did humans first come together in cities and what were they like to live in? Illustrated with spectacular photographs of the sites of ancient cities today, as well as fabulous objects and works of art, this book provides a fascinating exploration of cities that shaped the ancient world. From the world's first cities, in Mesopotamia, to the spectacular urban monuments of the Maya in Central America, the cities described here represent almost three millennia of human history and development. Under John Julius Norwich's expert editorship, eminent historians and archaeologists with first-hand knowledge of each site bring these silent ruins to life as the teeming metropolises they once were.

The long awaited and highly revealing diaries of the politician, diplomat, and socialite (married to Lady Diana Cooper) 'This is a fabulous, jaw-dropping read' SUNDAY TIMES 'Duff Cooper was as close to the action as anyone during the dramatic events of the mid-20th century. He was also comically priapic, committing enough sexual indiscretions to fill a dozen diaries' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'Fascinating for two things: their testament to an exhilarating century and their witness to a vanished age of power and privilege ... What a man' OBSERVER Duff Cooper was a first-rate witness of just about every significant event from 1914 to 1950. His diary includes some magnificent set pieces - as a young soldier at the end of WWI, as a politician during the General Strike of 1926, as King Edward VIII's friend at the time of the Abdication, and from Paris after the liberation in 1944, when he became British ambassador. If Duff Cooper's name has dimmed in the 50 years since his death, publication of these diaries will bring him to the fore once again. His family have long resisted publication - indeed Duff Cooper's nephew, the publisher Rupert Hart-Davis, was so shocked by the sexual revelations that he suggested to John Julius Norwich that it might be best for all concerned if they were burnt. Now, superbly edited by John Julius Norwich, who familial link ensures all kinds of additional information as footnotes, these diaries join the ranks.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In a chronicle that captures nearly two thousand years of inspiration and intrigue, John Julius Norwich recounts in riveting detail the histories of the most significant popes and what they meant politically, culturally, and socially to Rome and to the world. Norwich presents such popes as Innocent I, who in the fifth century successfully negotiated with Alaric the Goth, an invader civil authorities could not defeat; Leo I, who two decades later tamed (and perhaps paid off) Attila the Hun; the infamous “pornocracy”—the five libertines who were descendants or lovers of Marozia, debauched daughter of one of Rome’s most powerful families; Pope Paul III, “the greatest pontiff of the sixteenth century,” who reinterpreted the Church’s teaching and discipline; John XXIII, who in five short years starting in 1958 instituted reforms that led to Vatican II; and Benedict XVI, who is coping with today’s global priest sex scandal. Epic and compelling, Absolute Monarchs is an enthralling history from “an enchanting and satisfying raconteur” (The Washington Post).

John Julius Norwich expertly examines the history of the oldest continuing institution in the world, tracing the papal line down the centuries from St Peter to the present Of the 280-odd holders of the supreme office, some have unquestionably been saints; others have wallowed in unspeakable immorality. One was said to have been a woman, her sex being revealed only when she improvidently gave birth to a baby during a papal procession. Almost as shocking was Formosus whose murdered corpse was exhumed, clothed in pontifical vestments, propped up on a throne and subjected to trial. From the glories of Byzantium to the decay of Rome, from the Albigensian Heresy to controversy within the Church today, The Popes is superbly written, witty and revealing. ‘Charming and learned...The prose is elegant, the witticisms are plentiful, and the volume's enthusiasm is addictive.’ Jonathan Wright, BBC History Magazine

Norwich's life reflects an appetite for living, enlivened by a sense of personal theater, as seen in "Trying to Please," his meditation on a glamorous but vanishing world. From the monasteries on Mt. Athos to a camel trek across the Sahara, Norwich's passions for history, travel, and music combine with simpler pleasures like friendship and a close family.

This lively and dramatic book brings roaring to life the grand sweep of 5,000 years of history in the cradle of civilization. A wonderfully illustrated account of the civilizations that rose and fell on the lands bordering the Mediterranean, The Middle Sea represents the culmination of a great historian’s unparalleled art and scholarship. John Julius Norwich provides brilliant portraits of the Phoenicians, the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Arabs, the French, the Venetians, the Popes, and the pirates of the Gulf. Above all, he deftly traces the intermingling of ancient conflicts and modern sensibilities that shapes life today on the shores of the Middle Sea.

Primera parte de una ambiciosa obra de John Julius Norwich que refleja la historia de Roberto Guiscardo, posiblemente el aventurero europeo más extraordinario ente Julio César y Napoleón; de su hermano Roger, que le ayudó a arrebatar Sicilia a los sarracenos; y de su sobrino Roger II, coronado rey de Sicilia en Palermo en 1130.

The city of Venice through the eyes of nineteenth century visitors.For this portrait of Venice in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Lord Norwich has abandoned the historical approach, preferring to look at the city through the eyes of the most distinguished of its foreign visitors or residents. Beginning with Napoleon - with, perhaps, the most mysterious of all his mistresses - we continue with Byron, who cut his usual swathe among the feminine population while embarking on the last great affair of his life. Ruskin, Browning, Wagner and Henry James are among the others who for a longer or shorter time made the city their own, together with the two great Anglo-American painters James McNeill Whistler and John Singer Sargent. The survey ends with the insufferable ";Baron Corvo";, who poisoned the life of the British colony in Venice in the years immediately before the First World War.John Julius Norwich has long been the foremost authority on Venice and in Paradise of Cities he confirms his reputation as an unparalleled historical storyteller. His book will delight and fascinate all lovers of this remarkable city.

Compares the historical kings with their portrayal in Shakespeare's plays.

Travel back in time in search of long-lost attitudes on love, lust, and passion. Beautifully illustrated in full color, this fascinating exploration uncovers how ancient civilizations regarded sex and sexuality. Exquisite photographs showcase sculpture, pottery, paintings, and architecture that feature graphic representations of the human form and the art of love. Seeing how romance was represented, communicated, and mythologized from the cave dwellers through the sophisticated Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans gives us new perspectives on history and on our lives today.

"Norwich is always on the lookout for the small but revealing details. . . . All of this he recounts in a style that consistently entertains." --The New York Times Book Review In this magisterial adaptation of his epic three-volume history of Byzantium, John Julius Norwich chronicles the world's longest-lived Christian empire. Beginning with Constantine the Great, who in a.d. 330 made Christianity the religion of his realm and then transferred its capital to the city that would bear his name, Norwich follows the course of eleven centuries of Byzantine statecraft and warfare, politics and theology, manners and art. In the pages of A Short History of Byzantium we encounter mystics and philosophers, eunuchs and barbarians, and rulers of fantastic erudition, piety, and degeneracy. We enter the life of an empire that could create some of the world's most transcendent religious art and then destroy it in the convulsions of fanaticism. Stylishly written and overflowing with drama, pathos, and wit, here is a matchless account of a lost civilization and its magnificent cultural legacy. "Strange and fascinating . . . filled with drollery and horror." --Boston Globe