Every Valley : The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel's Messiah

From New York Times bestselling historian & National Book Critics Circle Award finalist Charles King, the moving untold story of the eighteenth-century men & women behind the making of Handel’s Messiah"A delicious history of music, power, love, genius, royalty & adventure." — Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of The World"A book of power & glory, brimming with emotion & dazzling in its reach." — Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Cleopatra and The RevolutionaryGeorge Frideric Handel’s Messiah is arguably the greatest piece of participatory art ever created. Adored by millions, it is performed each year by renowned choirs & orchestras, as well as by audiences singing along with the words on their cell phones.But this work of triumphant joy was born in a worried age. Britain in the early Enlightenment was a place of astonishing creativity but also the seat of an empire mired in war, enslavement, & conflicts over everything from the legitimacy of government to the meaning of truth. Against this turbulent background, prize-winning author Charles King has crafted a cinematic drama of the troubled lives that shaped a masterpiece of hope.Every Valley presents a depressive dissenter stirred to action by an ancient prophecy; an actress plagued by an abusive husband & public scorn; an Atlantic sea captain & penniless philanthropist; & an African Muslim man held captive in the American colonies & hatching a dangerous plan for getting back home. At center stage is Handel himself, composer to kings but, at midlife, in ill health & straining to keep an audience’s attention. Set amid royal intrigue, theater scandals, & political conspiracy, Every Valley is entertaining, inspiring, unforgettable.°°°Charles King is the author of 8 books, most recently Gods of the Upper Air, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award & winner of the Francis Parkman Prize & the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award.&nbs The untold story of the eighteenth-century men and women behind the making of Handels Messiah, one of the worlds most beloved works of classical music, from a New York Times bestselling historian and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. George Frideric Handels Messiah is arguably the greatest piece of participatory art ever created. Adored by millions, it is performed each year by renowned choirs and orchestras, as well as by audiences singing along with the words on their cell phones. But this work of triumphant joy was born in a worried Britain in the early Enlightenment, a time of astonishing creativity but also of war, enslavement, social polarization, and conflicts over everything from the legitimacy of government to the meaning of truth.Contrary to popular belief, the Messiah was not the product of a lone genius scribbling furiously on a musical staff. It came about because of a depressive dissenter stirred to action by an ancient prophecy; an actress plagued by an abusive husband and public scorn; an Atlantic sea captain and penniless philanthropist; an African Muslim man held captive in the American colonies; and Handel himself, composer tokings but, at midlife, in ill health and straining to keep an audiences attention.Set amid royal intrigue, theater scandals, and political conspiracy, Every Valley is a cinematic drama of the troubled lives and times that shaped a masterpiece of hope. From New York Times bestselling historian and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist Charles King, the moving untold story of the eighteenth-century men and women behind the making of Handel’s Messiah "A delicious history of music, power, love, genius, royalty and adventure."—Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of The World "A book of power and glory, brimming with emotion and dazzling in its reach."—Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Cleopatra and The Revolutionary George Frideric Handel’s Messiah is arguably the greatest piece of participatory art ever created. Adored by millions, it is performed each year by renowned choirs and orchestras, as well as by audiences singing along with the words on their cell phones. But this work of triumphant joy was born in a worried age. Britain in the early Enlightenment was a place of astonishing creativity but also the seat of an empire...