A superb group portrait." - Booklist "Norwich's long career as a historian has given him a definite assurance of style, which allows him to present historical detail in a thoroughly engaging manner without sacrificing clarity. Through Norwich's perceptive eyes, we see that the four monarchs certainly did not exist in a vacuum, that each one was not a completely separate entity. written with often humming literary verve." - New York Times Book Review "In prolific historian Norwich's well-articulated appraisal, these four giant figures can, and should be, perceived as a 'single phenomenon' that deeply imprinted sixteenth-century Europe. Praise for FOUR PRINCES "The major achievement of the book is the very fact that Norwich takes each of the four rulers to be a piece of the same story. With remarkable erudition, John Julius Norwich delves into this entertaining and layered history, indelibly depicting four dynamic characters, and how their incredible achievements-and obsessions with one another-changed European history. Against the vibrant background of the Renaissance, these four men collectively shaped the culture, religion, and politics of their respective domains. Suleiman the Magnificent-who stood apart as a Muslim-brought the Ottoman Empire to its apogee of political, military, and economic power. Charles V, the most powerful and industrious man at the time, was unanimously elected Holy Roman Emperor. Henry VIII, who was not expected to inherit the throne but embraced the role with gusto, broke with the Roman Catholic Church and appointed himself head of the Church of England.
Francis I of France was the personification of the Renaissance, and a highly influential patron of the arts and education. About the Book Renowned historian John Julius Norwich has created a brilliant portrait of four dynamic rulers-all born in the last decade of the 15th century-who collectively shaped modern Europe and the Middle Eastīook Synopsis Renowned historian John Julius Norwich has crafted a bold tapestry of Europe and the Middle East in the early sixteenth century, when a quartet of legendary rulers-all born within a ten-year period-towered over the era.
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