Four Princes: Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, Suleiman the Magnificent and the Obsessions that Forged Modern Europe Audiobook

John Julius Norwich—who the Wall Street Journal called "the very model of a popular historian"—has crafted a big, bold tapestry of the early sixteenth century, when Europe and the Middle East were overshadowed by a quartet of legendary rulers, all born within a ten-year period:

• Francis I of France, the personification of the Renaissance, who became a highly influential patron of the arts and education



• 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



• Charles V, the most powerful and industrious man at the time, was unanimously elected Holy Roman Emperor



• Suleiman the Magnificent stood apart as a Muslim, and brought the Ottoman Empire to its apogee of political, military, and economic power

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“Julian Elfer’s melodic voice is perfect as narrator of this sweeping history of sixteenth-century Europe. Elfer’s unemotional narration flows steadily through political intrigue and religious changes and conflicts, dynastic marriages, military campaigns, and international explorations that bring Europe into the early modern period. He shifts accents effortlessly between English, French, German, and Turkish. Footnotes are read sotto voce, never breaking the steady narrative. Back and forth across Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, and the western realms of the Ottoman Empire, this history sheds light on a familiar yet complex period.”

— AudioFile