John Julius Norwich

France by John Julius Norwich is an exuberant journey through two millennia of French history, brimming with fascinating characters, pivotal battles, and transformative events. From the formidable Roman generals and rebellious Gallic chieftains to the majestic reign of Charlemagne, Norwich unravels the intricate tapestry of France's past with an engaging blend of profound knowledge and witty observations. The book sweeps...

Renowned historian John Julius Norwich's classic history of Venice - with a fresh new cover look. Intricate, captivating, beautiful, romantic, unique, unforgettable . . . A History of Venice tells the story of this most remarkable of cities from its founding in the fifth century, through its unrivalled status for over a thousand years as one of the world's busiest...

In a sparkling, fast-paced narrative, Shakespeare's Kings chronicles the turbulent events that inspired Shakespeare's history plays, from Edward III to Richard III. In a time of uncertainty and incessant warfare—when the crown was constantly contested, alliances were made and broken, and the people rose up in revolt—this was the raw material that inspired Shakespeare's dramas. But what really happened between...

Sicily is the key to everything - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe The author of the classic book on Venice turns his sights to Sicily in this beautiful book full of maps and colour photographs. I discovered Sicily almost by mistake . . . We drove as far as Naples, then put the car on the night ferry to Palermo. There...

John Julius Norwich presents a sweeping tour of forty great cities that shaped the ancient world and its civilisations — and which in turn have shaped our own. The cities of the ancient world built the foundations for modern urban life, their innovations in architecture and politics essential to cities as we know them today. But what was it like...

'Never before had the world seen four such giants co-existing. Sometimes friends, more often enemies, always rivals, these four men together held Europe in the hollow of their hands.' Four Princes explores the lives of four great princes—Henry VIII of England, Francis I of France, Charles V of Spain and Suleiman the Magnificent—who were born within a single decade. Each...

Chronicling the 'other Norman invasion', The Normans in the South is the epic story of the House of Hauteville, and in particular Robert Guiscard, perhaps the most extraordinary European adventurer between the times of Caesar and Napoleon. In one year, 1084, he had both the Eastern and Western Emperors retreating before him and one of the most formidable of medieval...

In 1969, John Julius Norwich, the legendary popular historian, gathered together the favourite things he'd come across in the last 365 days into one short charming pamphlet. Initially just a treat for his friends, it rapidly turned into a huge word-of-mouth success. Soon, the arrival of John Julius Norwich's latest Christmas Cracker became as essential a part of the English...

When on Christmas Day, 1130, Roger de Hauteville was crowned first King of Sicily, the island entered a golden age. Norman and Italian, Greek and Arab, Lombard, Englishman and Jew all contributed to a culture that was fantastically cosmopolitan; and to an atmosphere of racial and religious toleration unparalleled in Europe. But sixty-four years later, to the day, when the...