Set in 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.
اضافة اعلان
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
16th century.
It is a journey
built on brutal choices and intimate relationships: the Greek slave who becomes
Suleyman’s closest friend, the Venetian plutocrat who sells him gems and wins
him allies, and the Russian consort who steals his heart.
Within a decade,
Suleyman had mastery over millions of souls, from Baghdad to the walls of
Vienna, while his pirate admiral Barbarossa dominated 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 civilizations in an existential duel or a story 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.
Reviews
“History at its
most gripping ... This vivid study of Suleyman the Magnificent is as
enthralling as fiction.” — The Sunday 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, (and) 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, Author of The Island of Missing Trees
“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, Nobel Laureate in
Literature
“Essential reading
for anyone wishing to understand political ambition and the role of
narcissistic leaders and scheming courtiers in any age.” — Robert Peston,
Political Editor ITV News
About the author
Christopher De
Bellaigue is the award-winning author of five books, including The Islamic
Enlightenment, which was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for
Non-fiction and the Orwell Prize for Political Writing in 2017. As a reporter
in the 1990s and 2000s, he covered the politics and invasions that shaped
Türkiye, the Middle East, and South Asia for the Economist, Guardian, and New
York Review of Books, amongst others.
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