Every Valley

A mesmerizing journey through one of the most fascinating and creative moments in human history -- AMANDA FOREMAN
An absolute delight, beautifully told – and featuring a veritable Who’s Who of the Georgian era -- PETER FRANKOPAN
Charles King’s fascinating history of Handel’s most famous work shows it in a whole new light . . . his book humanises the work’s exalted creators and demonstrates that the Messiah is not a pompous manifesto of faith but a troubled, often desperate quest for consolation . . . King . . . does a fine job of implicating Handel in the conflicts and contradictions of an unsettled society -- Peter Conrad * Observer *
Engaging and enthusiastic . . . King handles a very large cast of characters and source material with energy, intelligence and aplomb -- Freya Johnstone * Literary Review *
Fascinating . . . King's narrative is wide-ranging, taking in not just the ailing composer and his circle – such as Thomas Coram, instigator of London's Foundling Hospital – but . . . how the Messiah coincided with the birth of the Enlightenment . . . In King's telling, the "Hallelujah Chorus" is just one rousing highlight among many -- Michael Prodger * New Statesman *
An adroitly threaded account of Handel’s life and achievements [that] opens out to a colourful gallery of 18th-century personalities who played a part in making Messiah what it was . . . lively . . . readable, well researched and rich with detail . . . an engaging narrative . . . full of understanding, setting a good example for any who would write about music . . . thoughtful and wide-ranging * Gramophone *
A splendid writer . . . a meticulous researcher, [King] delivers surprises . . . fine and vivid sentences . . . fascinating * The Atlantic *
Compelling. King transforms Handel's world into a place we can all recognise and understand as the foundation for our own * Washington Post *
A book rich with quirky characters living under strange circumstances: eccentric royals, visionary benefactors, financial collapses, theatrical triumphs and career meltdowns . . . we are plunged into the hectic mayhem of London life * The New York Times *
In an engagingly written story . . . Charles King explores the background to a work which he considers the greatest piece of participatory art ever created. King’s discursive and genial approach . . . make for enjoyable reading . . . a bird’s-eye view of Georgian London, seasoned with apposite quotes from leading literary figures of the time, including Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift * BBC Music Magazine *