The Golden Throne: The Curse of a King

(Hardback)

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Description

An immersive reconstruction of the life of the most feared and powerful man of the sixteenth century, from the author of The Lion House Istanbul, 1537. The greatest of the Ottoman Sultans is at his personal apogee and the pinnacle of world power. With both Christianity and Islam riven by schism, he is mighty enough to maul different enemies in different hemispheres at the same time. But a terrible crisis is building that will rip Suleyman's family apart as his beloved wife Hurrem wages pitiless war against his first-born son, Mustafa, and the boy's mother Mahidevran. From the Baillie Gifford shortlisted historian, this intensely gripping, cinematic account of the life and world of Suleyman the Magnificent tells the story of one of the most consequential lives in world history while pioneering a ground-breaking new form of 'history in the present tense'.

Reviews

This is history, but not as we know it. It is non-fiction posing as a novel, rich in incident and cinematic detail. It's tremendous . . . It's a sign of how thoroughly gripping this book is that I found myself wanting a second volume as soon as possible -- Justin Marozzi * The Times on The Lion House *
Wolf Hall for the Ottoman Empire ... History at its most gripping ... And the next two volumes, we know, will have plenty of drama to come * Telegraph on The Lion House *
The most daring history book of the year. Unforgettable -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times on The Lion House *
A formidable book ... incredible -- Rory Stewart on The Lion House
An urgent, immersive, present-tense gallop ... behind the bejewelled descriptive prose a thumping pulse of action tugs us through * Financial Times on The Lion House *
Luminous ... gripping ... truly magnificent * Spectator on The Lion House *
Exquisite . . . So arresting is this book, so enveloping in the tensions of its narrative, that most readers will feel a pang of sorrow that the tale does not run on. The Lion House leaves us with a tease, or taunt: 'Who, apart from God, can say what will come next' A sequel, surely. Although it was the peak of the Ottoman Empire, Suleyman's reign also offers clear glimpses of a great decline to come. Who better to tell us about it than Mr. de Bellaigue * Wall Street Journal on The Lion House *
There are books that enlarge the mind, there are books that enrich the soul, but rarely comes a book so beautifully-written and profound that it manages to do both -- Elif Shafak on The Lion House
Christopher de Bellaigue has a magic talent for writing history It is as if we are there as the era of Suleyman the Magnificent unfolds -- Orhan Pamuk on The Lion House
Narrated with a verve and flair that make the characters burst from the pages. Outstanding -- Eugene Rogan on The Lion House
Non-fiction with the readability of a thriller. Unputdownable -- Victoria Hislop on The Lion House

Author Bio

Christopher de Bellaigue is the award-winning author of The Lion House- The Rise of Suleyman the Magnificent, which was chosen as a book of the year by The Times, Sunday Times, Spectator and New Yorker among others, as well as five previous books, including The Islamic Enlightenment, which was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-fiction and the Orwell Prize for Political Writing in 2017. As a reporter in the 1990s and 2000s, he covered the politics and invasions that shaped Turkey, the Middle East and South Asia for, among others, the Economist, Guardian and New York Review of Books. He has also made television and radio programmes and has lectured at universities and in boardrooms around the world.