Four Princes

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 looms large in his country's history, and author John Julius Norwich broadens the scope to show how, against the rich background of the Renaissance and the turmoil of the Reformation, their wary obsession with one another laid the foundations for modern Europe. Individually, each man could hardly have been more different—from the scandals of Henry's six wives to Charles's monasticism—but together, they dominated the world stage.

From the Field of the Cloth of Gold, a pageant of jousting, feasting, and general carousing so lavish that it nearly bankrupted both France and England, to Suleiman's celebratory pyramid of 2,000 human heads (including those of seven Hungarian bishops) after the battle of Mohacs; from Anne Boleyn's six-fingered hand (a potential sign of witchcraft) that had the pious nervously crossing themselves to the real story of the Maltese falcon, Four Princes is history at its vivid, entertaining best.

With a cast list that extends from Leonardo da Vinci to Barbarossa, and from Joanna the Mad to le roi grand-nez, John Julius Norwich offers the perfect guide to the most colourful century the world has ever known and brings the past to unforgettable life.