Author:Joseph Hone
Longlisted for the HWA Non-Fiction Crown
'A remarkable achievement' Spectator
In the summer of 1705, a masked woman knocked on the door of a London printer's workshop. She did not leave her name, only a package and the promise of protection.
Soon after, an anonymous pamphlet was quietly distributed in the backstreets of the city. Entitled The Memorial of the Church of England, the argument it proposed threatened to topple the government. Fearing insurrection, parliament was in turmoil and government minister Robert Harley launched a hunt for all of those involved. The printer was eventually named, but could not be found...
In this breakneck political adventure, Joseph Hone shows us a nation in crisis through the story of a single incendiary document.
'An elegant blend of scholarship and detection' Peter Moore, author of Endeavour
'Enthralling' London Review of Books
'An exciting story told with vigour' Adrian Tinniswood, Literary Review
A remarkable achievement...a fast-paced, captivating narrative... Hone demonstrates how uncovering 18th-century working lives can be every bit as enthralling as tracing the machinations of the greatest politicians of the age
—— Marcus Nevitt , SpectatorAn exciting story told with vigour... A fascinating insight into the world of late Stuart printing... [Hone] manages to combine a lively, almost novelistic narrative style with a confident and scholarly knowledge of his subject
—— Adrian Tinniswood , Literary ReviewAn elegant blend of scholarship and detection that reanimates the dangerous, exciting, clandestine world of Fleet Street at the start of the modern age
—— Peter Moore, author of EndeavourA brilliantly original, immersive and thrilling tale told by a fine scholar and storyteller
—— Jessie Childs, author of God’s TraitorsEnthralling microhistory...provides in Hone's skilled hands the clearest view to date of the murky world of underground printing in late Stuart London
—— Tom Keymer , London Review of BooksDeighton has shown himself to be the most protean of British best-sellers.
—— John Sutherland , London Review of BooksTobias Kelly's book takes five pacifists, four men and one woman, and skilfully weaves their stories into a broader narrative . . . A long and proud tradition of being permitted to act according to conscience is very much part of Britain's self-image . . . that there was space for pacifists to lay claim to the values of sacrifice and citizenship while not taking up weapons, ultimately played a not insignificant role in Britain's record of tolerance
—— Mark Bostridge , Times Literary SupplementThis is a sympathetic and nuanced study that challenges the overly simplistic wartime narrative that pervades British culture
—— History TodayThose 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 TimesVivid and compelling ... He presents his story like a novel, but it is not fiction; every detail has been diligently researched, for example by perusing diaries in difficult Venetian dialect ... Whether he is describing a lavish dinner for Italian merchants on the Bosporus, the stately progress of Suleiman's armies through the Balkans or a mass circumcision, he has an eye for the colourful, absurd and ironic ... As this book shows, living in the penumbra of such supreme power can be seductive and intoxicating. But the end of the story is often tragic
—— EconomistWolf Hall for the Ottoman Empire ... History at its most gripping
—— Daily TelegraphThis account really grips... it does so by bringing out the fascinating individuals, the adventure, the lurid details, the barbarities, the opulence and squalor and near misses of the story
—— Melanie McDonagh , Evening StandardPoised effortlessly between two worlds and two ages, a book as pungent and mysterious as the age it depicts
—— RORY STEWART, former British Cabinet Minister and author of The Places In BetweenA complex piece of history told with extraordinary clarity
—— Spectator, *Best Books of 2022*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 LiteratureEssential 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 NewsGripping, novelistic ... brisk and muscular ... written in a sure-footed historical present, the book creates a simulacrum of the 16th century through the painstaking accumulation of attested details ... [giving] the book its vividness and energy ... [De Bellaigue] writes with supreme confidence about power, diplomacy, clothing, avarice, war, statecraft and the exceptional brutality of the era ... While The Lion House unfolds like a novel, through scenes rich with authenticating detail
—— Marcel Theroux , The New York Times Book ReviewDe Bellaigue is a riveting and expert guide to the story of Suleyman's quest for power
—— PETER FRANKOPAN, author of The Silk RoadsNarrated with a verve and flair that make the characters burst from the pages. Outstanding history and an incredibly good read
—— EUGENE ROGAN, author of The Fall of the OttomansExquisite ... So arresting is this book, so enveloping in the tensions of its narrative, that most readers will feel a pang of sorrow that the tale does not run on. The Lion House leaves us with a tease, or taunt: "Who, apart from God, can say what will come next?" A sequel, surely. Although it was the peak of the Ottoman Empire, Suleyman's reign also offers clear glimpses of a great decline to come. Who better to tell us about it than Mr de Bellaigue?
—— Wall Street JournalNon-fiction with the readability of a thriller. Unputdownable
—— VICTORIA HISLOP, author of The IslandSensuous and scholarly, meticulously researched and deliciously irreverent, The Lion House is an intoxicating journey through the Ottomans' golden age
—— AMBERIN ZAMAN, correspondent, Al-Monitor, Turkey correspondent for the Economist (1999-2016) and Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington, DCReads like the most gripping fiction ... could very well be Netflix's next epic
—— Radio TimesThe Lion House presents a historical universe that captivates and astonishes and is near-impossible to put down. A superb example of historical literature and research
—— RICHARD WHATMORE, Professor of Modern History at the University of St AndrewsFull of breath-taking events at the cross-roads of empires at a moment in history when notions such as Europe, Asia, Christianity and Islam were infinitely more fluid and permeable than they are today
—— KEREM OKTEM, Professor of International Relations at Ca' Foscari University, VeniceOriginal... de Bellaigue... offers a vivid presentation of events, re-imagined as scenes and episodes... a different, literary kind [of history]
—— Noel Malcolm , Times Literary SupplementDe Bellaigue writes with impecable scholarship, piecing together contemporary accounts to create a thrilling narrative
—— Church TimesDe Bellaigue is an expert stylist, sensitive to rhythm and vocabulary, and passionate in his pursuit of the fugitive detail that gives meaning to a whole episode
—— Literary ReviewAn exhilarating read
—— Rose Shepherd , Saga MagazineAn engrossing book... This is history turned into drama and poetry, awesomely spectacular yet also intensely intimate
—— Yasmin Alibhai-Brown , iNewsThe world of Suleyman the Magnificent...is brought to life in this history
—— The Times, *The Year’s Top 50 Non-Fiction Books*