The past is never dead, it isn’t even past
In 1308, the exiled Florentine poet Dante Alighieri described how, midway through his life, he found himself lost amidst a dark wood, with no sign of a path. He had no idea how he had arrived where he was. His mind was fogged; it was as if he had woken from a deep...
The preamble to the American Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas Jefferson and revised by Congress, declares that all men have certain 'unalienable Rights', including 'Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness'. This was the culmination of a century of...
Books Click on any of the books covers below to either buy or get more information on Amazon Articles Click on the links below to read the full article [dpdfg_filtergrid custom_query="advanced" use_taxonomy_terms="on" multiple_taxonomies="name_of_author"...
The Life and Times of Rodrigo Borgia: Pope Alexander VI, by Arnold H Mathew. An account of the Borgia who became Pope.
Raphael: A portrait of the Artist, by Henry Strachey. A classic study of Raphael, essential reading for those interested in Renaissance art.
Machiavelli's Shirt ‘And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?’ W B Yeats, The Second Coming. ‘How could I possibly tell you what the sermon was about? You know that I never listen to such things.’ Machiavelli, in a...
What first attracted you to the period or periods you work in? My interest in the Mediterranean world goes back a long way. My father was a naval officer who was based there in peace and in war. When I was nine he was stationed on Malta and I went out for holidays. I...
What role did Florence play at the end of the 15th century, and what were some of the factors that led to its prominence? At the end of 15th century Florence had become the epicentre of the Renaissance. This was one of the great cultural resurgences of European...
Dante Alighieri (1265 – 1321) the Florentine author of the medieval masterpiece of fantasy-fiction known as the Divine Comedy provides the modern observer with a unique insight into the world-view of a thinking man at the height of the Age of Faith. This means that...
Simon Sebag Montefiore 2020 has been a stellar year for brilliant books and given Covid, I don’t think I’ve read so many books. I recommend India in the Persianate Age by Richard M Eaton, a brilliant, gripping, refreshing and scholarly history of India from 1000AD to...
