Venice,1522. Intelligence arrives from the east confirming Europe's greatest fear: the vastly rich Ottoman Sultan has all he needs to wage total war - and his sights are set on Rome. With Christendom divided,Suleyman the Magnificent has his hand on its throat.
From the palaces of Istanbul to the blood-soaked fields of central Europe and the scorched coasts of north Africa,The Lion House pioneers a bold new style of eye-witness history to tell a true story of power at its most glittering,personal and perilous: Suleyman's rise to become the most feared and powerful man of the sixteenth century.
It is a journey built on brutal choices and intimate relationships - with the Greek slave who becomes his closest friend,the Venetian plutocrat who sells him gems and wins him allies,the Russian consort who steals his heart. Within a decade,Suleyman has mastery over millions of souls,from Baghdad to the walls of Vienna,while his pirate admiral Barbarossa dominates the Mediterranean. And yet the real drama takes place in small rooms and whispered conversations: as the Sultan exchanges love letters with his own vizier; as he awakes in terror after dreaming of his own assassination.
The Lion House is not just the story of two civilisations in an existential duel and of one of the most consequential lives in world history. It is a tale of the timeless pull of power,dangerous to live with,deadly to live without.
Publisher: Vintage PublishingISBN: 9780099578697Number of pages: 304Weight: 215 gDimensions: 200 x 130 x 18 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'History at its most gripping'- Daily Telegraph
'An urgent,immersive,present-tense gallop...the book reads as a non-fiction novel...cinematically vivid tableaux...Each spangled scene...rests on a solid foundation in the primary sources...De Bellaigue enriches his storytelling with the colourful,meticulous dispatches of its traders,envoys and spies...behind the bejewelled descriptive prose a thumping pulse of action tugs us through...de Bellaigue's glittering,deft and often witty prose adds pleasure to each page'- Financial Times
'Luminous,erudite...a gripping account that evokes an epic poem,saga or'book of kings'...It is as immersive as the blurb claims,conjuring the world of the eastern Mediterranean,Anatolia and south-eastern Europe in the early 16th century with the limpid clarity of the many gems that stud its pages...Even more than the detail,it is the characters that intrigue and often inspire...The book leaves the reader with Suleiman truly magnificent'- Spectator
'Those lucky readers who come to Christopher de Bellaigue's book in proximity to reading Mantel can suddenly have a new panel thrown open to them like an unfolding altarpiece...all written in the present tense. This creates the obvious sense of liveliness and urgency...Bellaigue sets about the task with such confidence and skill that it works...a dazzling and dark work. Witty and often wise,it speaks to the frailties and the precarity of power'- David Aaronovitch,The Times
'There are books that enlarge the mind,there are books that enrich the soul,but rarely comes a book so beautifully-written and profound that it manages to do both'- Elif Shafak
'Christopher de Bellaigue has a magic talent for writing history It is as if we are there as the era of Suleyman the Magnificent unfolds'- Orhan Pamuk
'Essential reading for anyone wishing to understand political ambition and the role of narcissistic leaders and scheming courtiers in any age'- Robert Peston
'De Bellaigue is a riveting and expert guide to the story of Suleyman's quest for power'- Peter Frankopan
Christopher de Bellaigue
Journalist Christopher de Bellaigue has long graced the pages of the New York Review of Books,Granta,The New Yorker and The Guardian,debuting in 2005 with the well-regarded In the Rose Garden of the Martyrs: A Memoir of Iran. His focus has chiefly centred on the histories of Iran and Turkey,including the comprehensive biography of former Prime Minister of Iran,Mohammad Mossadegh,in Patriot of Persia: Muhammad Mossadegh and a Tragic Anglo-American Coup.
Visit the Christopher de Bellaigue author page
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