Every Valley

Much closer to the teeming panorama of a novel like War and Peace than the narrow focus of most books about music history . . . It takes a rare blend of scholarship, ingenuity and empathy to weave together the stories of the mostly distressed souls who, one way or another, were connected with Messiah’s creation . . . King expertly juggles these individuals’ stories and a lot more besides . . . riveting -- Richard Morrison * The Times, *Book of the Week* *
A mesmerizing journey through one of the most fascinating and creative moments in human history -- AMANDA FOREMAN
This book reveals . . . fascinating historical truths . . . By following the links between individuals who are connected by varying degrees of separation with the work’s original creation and promotion, the author discovers that this one musical piece can stimulate joined-up insights into almost every significant aspect of its period: cultural, political, social, economic . . . His technique is often cinematic, focusing in and then panning out . . . In every case the macro picture is made vivid through the micro stories of individuals. Anyone who has ever written a historical narrative will know how hard it must have been for King to keep all the strands so expertly in play. The result is a truly informative, imaginative and engaging work * Financial Times *
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 *
What is it that thrills audiences and lifts the hearts of singers? In Every Valley Charles King . . . sets out to explain the Messiah’s enduring popularity . . . King interweaves the lives of several people directly or tangentially connected with it [and] accompanies these with analyses of Georgian life and thought . . . the result is a densely textured history of the era . . . [that] vividly evoke[s] its origins, creation and impact on eighteenth-century society, while also suggesting the message it conveys to our own -- Jenny Uglow * New York Review of Books *
Smartly written . . . In explaining the social and biographical background of the story of Messiah, King brings the masterpiece to life — and keeps it alive * Washington Examiner *
King uses Handel’s Messiah, possibly “the greatest piece of participatory art ever created”, as a hub whose spokes radiate outward to a host of key historical forces and personalities that characterize 18th-century Britain * A New York Times Notable Book of the Year *
A work of vivid social and cultural commentary, it functions also as an in-depth study of artistic creation, how Messiah came to be, but also of the unstoppable spigot that was Handel’s musical imagination -- John Adams * The New York Times Book Review *
A book of power and glory, brimming with emotion and dazzling in its reach -- STACY SCHIFF
Charles King shows how Handel’s epic work, the Messiah, sprang not from one solitary composer’s genius but from the dramatic interplay of eighteenth-century lives and their times. Fascinating and accessible to all -- HENRY LOUIS GATES JR
Vividly depicting life in Britain during the turbulence of the 1700s, Charles King celebrates Handel's Messiah as a glorious beacon of hope -- ELAINE PAGELS
Charles King’s erudition is remarkable but never obtrusive, for he is a wonderful story-teller. Every Valley is eighteenth century history as page-turner, evoking both tears and laughter -- ARCHIE BROWN
A delicious history of music, power, love, genius, royalty and adventure, beautifully told. Unforgettable -- SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE
An interesting biography dealing with events and characters with whom Handel’s life became entangled * Church Times *
If you want to understand how the literature, music, history and economics of an era intertwine, then Every Valley is a book you should read… it reads like a novel… this is a grand read * Bachtrack, *Christmas Guide Guide 2024* *