As a biographer and historian, I had been deeply impressed by Charles King's study of the origins of modern Istanbul, 'Midnight at the Pera Palace'. So I was thrilled to discover that his latest book 'Every Valley' explores the eighteenth century English society that helped make possible Handel's 'Messiah'. I was not disappointed. Here is a writer whose research is impeccable but who wears his scholarship lightly and writes with conviction and verve. The clever structure peoples the story with not only the brilliant composer himself but also figures such as the librettist Charles Jennens and the philanthropist Thomas Coram, showing us how crucial they were to Handel and the great oratorio. We learn about slavery, wars, sex scandal and much else before a triumphant crescendo brings all the pieces together with the musical masterpiece itself.
Every Valley is a glittering narrative history of intertwined lives that tells the story behind one of the greatest pieces of music ever written, Handel's Messiah.
'A delicious history of music, power, love, genius, royalty and adventure. Unforgettable.' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE
London - Dublin, 1741-42. An actress mired in scandal plans her escape from an abusive husband. A penniless sea captain sets out to rescue the city's abandoned infants. An African Muslim and former captive in the colonies becomes a celebrity. A grieving political dissident seeks release from his torment. And a great composer to kings - George Frideric Handel…
Elif Shafak has done it again! A consummate storyteller, she immerses us in the very different stories of three individuals across time and place, their experiences linked by the part played in their respective fates through two of the great rivers of the world. This compassionate, profound novel, beautifully articulated, makes us think about the significance of belonging, displacement and much else. It makes for a compelling read and I see it as a joint first choice rather than a second favourite!
This is the story of one lost poem, two great rivers, and three remarkable lives - all connected by a single drop of water.
*****
In the ruins of Nineveh, that ancient city of Mesopotamia, there lies hidden in the sand fragments of a long-forgotten poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh.
In Victorian London, an extraordinary child is born at the edge of the dirt-black Thames. When his brilliant memory earns him a spot as an apprentice at a printing press, the world opens up far beyond the slums and across the seas.
Ian McEwan tells an eminently readable story about a lost poem. But his book is about much more than this. Through its exploration of the relationship between past, present and future comes a warning of the need to value what we have now and to plan for a viable future. His depiction of the world of 2119 - less than a century away - is a fascinating but chilling one of the consequences of not heeding the incontrovertible signs of climate change and the world that has been lost. This story of the future reveals the lack of foresight of the past but via a story shorn of preaching and telling us what to think. This elegant writing makes McEwan's warning especially digestible but no less potent. In this book some of the themes of this powerful writer's novels come together.
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the Booker prize–winning, bestselling author of Atonement and Saturday, a genre-bending new novel full of secrets and surprises; an immersive exploration, across time and history, of what can ever be truly known.
ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR
"It gave me so much pleasure I sometimes felt like laughing. . . . It's a sophisticated entertainment of a high order." —The New York Times
"Brilliantly, and surprisingly, plotted."—The Washington Post • "A novelist of consummate skill."—The Wall Street Journal • "Elegantly structured and provocative."—Los…
Philip Burton (1904-95) was the Welsh schoolmaster who trained his pupil Richard Jenkins and made him his legal ward. He became the global acting legend that was Richard Burton. A lifelong love of the stage impelled this inspirational teacher who later became the first director of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. 'Behind the Scenes' reveals that Philip Burton (who emigrated to the States in 1954) remained close to the actor for the rest of his life, playing a big part behind the scenes in influencing Richard Burton's acclaime Shakespearean roles at Stratford-upon-Avon and London's Old Vic as well as in 'Camelot' and his iconic 'Hamlet' on Broadway in 1964. However, Philip Burton was also an influential scriptwriter and producer for the BBC, a New York theatre director, wrote plays and novels including one about Shakespeare's brother and delivered sparkling performance lectures about Shakespeare across the States. He spent his last decades in Key West, Florida. Born into an impoverished Welsh coal mining family. Philip Burton was a remarkable example of 20c social mobility whose transatlantic and dramatic life virtually spanned that century. Published by Parthian in the UK in 2025, 'Behind the Scenes' is distributed in North America and Canada by IPG Chicago from March 2026.
