Diplomatic Gifts

'[A] jaunty and instructive book [that] takes the reader through an enchanting … range of gifts made by one nation (or its ruler) to another.' -- The Wall Street Journal ‘We’ve all wrestled with the problem of what to give someone who has everything. In this book, my dear friend Paul illustrates how diplomatic gifts are intended to send subtle or sometimes not-so-subtle messages of power, friendship and, of course, diplomacy. A wonderful gift to all who enjoy exploring history, presented in a highly entertaining and informative way.’ -- Baroness Floella Benjamin, actress, writer, presenter, and Chair of the Windrush Commemoration Committee ‘Enchanting. A delight from beginning to end, as funny as it is perceptive. Brummell shows that the best gifts are imaginative, memorable and personalised but, above all, inanimate: animals—from the Trojan Horse to Maksat the Turkmen stallion—spell trouble for the recipient. Read and enjoy.’ -- Lord Simon McDonald, former Permanent Under-Secretary and Head of the Diplomatic Service at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office ‘This engaging, impressively researched book shows how objects can help us understand the people and the emotions that drove diplomatic exchanges in the past—and still drive them today. An insightful and deeply enjoyable work.’ -- Zoltán Biedermann, Professor of Early Modern History, University College London, and co-editor of Global Gifts: the Material Culture of Diplomacy in Early Modern Eurasia ‘A gem of a book. Easy reading. Witty. A brilliantly told collection of fifty short stories that together reveal the complex history of global diplomacy.’ -- Stevie Spring, CBE, Chairman, British Council