OUR STORE IS CLOSED ON ANZAC DAY: THURSDAY 25 APRIL

Close Notification

Your cart does not contain any items

The Lion House

Discover the life of Suleyman the Magnificent, the most feared man of the sixteenth century...

Christopher de Bellaigue

$35

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

QTY:

English
Bodley Head
16 March 2022
Venice, 1522. Sensitive intelligence arrives from the east confirming the European powers' greatest fear- the vastly rich Ottoman Sultan has amassed all he needs to wage total war - and his sights are set on Rome. With Christendom divided, Suleyman the Magnificent has his hand on their entrails.

From the palace cloisters of Istanbul to the blood-soaked fields of central Europe to the sun-scorched coast 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 deadly- Suleyman's rise to become the most powerful man of the sixteenth century.

Narrated through the eyes and actions of Suleyman's intimates, it animates with stunning immediacy the fears and stratagems of those brought into orbit around him- the Greek slave who becomes his Grand Vizier, the Venetian jewel-dealer who acts as his go-between, the Russian consort who becomes his most beloved wife.

Within a decade and half, Suleyman held dominion over 25 million souls, from Baghdad to the walls of Vienna, and with the help of his brilliant pirate commander Barbarossa placed more Christians than ever before or since under Muslim rule. And yet the real drama all takes place in close-up- in small rooms and whispered conversations, behind the curtain of power, where the Sultan sleeps head to toe with his best friend and eats off wooden spoons with his baby boy.

The Lion House is not just the story of rival super-powers in an existential duel, nor of one of the most consequential lives in human history, but an examination of what it means to live in a world where a few men get to decide the fate of the world.

By:  
Imprint:   Bodley Head
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 234mm,  Width: 154mm,  Spine: 24mm
Weight:   466g
ISBN:   9781847922403
ISBN 10:   1847922406
Pages:   320
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  ELT Advanced ,  Primary
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Christopher de Bellaigue was born in London in 1971, and was educated at Cambridge University, where he read Iranian and Indian Studies. Between 1995 and 2007, he lived and worked as a journalist in south Asia and the Middle East, writing for The Economist, Guardian and the New York Review of Books. He is the award-winning author of four books and has made several BBC television and radio programmes. He lives in London.

Reviews for The Lion House: Discover the life of Suleyman the Magnificent, the most feared man of the sixteenth century

An eye-opening, well-written and very timely book -- YUVAL NOAH HARARI on The Islamic Enlightenment 'Luminous ... burst[s] with colour and detail ... A dazzling feat of erudition and storytelling' * New Statesman on The Islamic Enlightenment * An important, beautifully written book that offers a powerful corrective * Sunday Times on The Islamic Enlightenment * The best sort of book for our disordered days: timely, urgent and illuminating -- PANKAJ MISHRA on The Islamic Enlightenment Brilliant -- ORHAN PAMUK on The Islamic Enlightenment


See Also