The story of the Burgundian elite and its remarkable court and culture, a medieval and early modern epic of dynastic struggle, artistic achievement and eventual extinction.
Bart Van Loo has developed a rare twin talent over the years. While drawing big crowds in the theatre, he is also the author of the universally praised France Trilogy and the bestseller Chanson: A sung history of France. The Burgundians is the first of his books to be translated into English. Nancy Forest-Flier grew up in a Dutch-American milieu in the United States and studied English literature and creative writing at Hope College, Michigan before settling in the Netherlands in 1982. She works as a freelance English-language editor and Dutch-English translator.
Bart Van Loo does something extremely difficult; he brings to life
an illusion of a state in an unfamiliar world. And he does this
with such verve and energy that you very nearly believe it
*Literary Review*
A thrilling narrative of the brutal dazzlingly rich wildly
ambitious duchy that was the most advanced and sophisticated
economy and the most extravagant flashy court of its time. Filled
with flamboyant murderous and debauched dukes, courtesans,
courtiers and maniacs, it is a total pleasure to read
*Simon Sebag Montefiore, Aspects of History, Books of the Year*
In this perky popular history, a bestseller on mainland Europe,
Bart Van Loo traces the steady rise and sudden end of the
Burgundians, sprinkling his narrative with many entertaining
asides
*The Times*
Bart van Loo is in top form. The Burgundians reads like a train and
hits you like a sledgehammer. A masterpiece... He does not try to
be a wise man or a moralist. What he does make clear is that that
the history of early Dutch unification is one that came about both
through excessive bloodshed and praiseworthy magnanimity. Mission
accomplished'
*De Morgen*
History told – and well told, too – for those who value narrative
at least as much as the finicky details of economics or
treaty-making
*Daily Telegraph*
To narrate the legendary story of the dukes of Burgundy, you need a
learned and visionary guide like Bart Van Loo... A masterful
work'
*Le Figaro*
Suitably epic
*BBC History Magazine*
A sparkling history of the origins of the Low Countries... Van Loo
arouses interest in the past among thousands of readers, spectators
and listeners in an inimitable way'
*The Low Countries*
A pleasure to read from start to finish. How fortunate that Van Loo
is not just a historian but also a writer. Truly spectacular!
*Neue Züricher Zeitung*
The political and the personal, economics and culture, belief and
violence, success and failure, major developments and spicy details
– it's all there. The Burgundians expertly draws on the latest
scientific insights, but is also told with lightness and
elegance'
*Frits van Oostrom*
The formidable saga of our Burgundian origins. Over 650 pages that
read like a great political adventure novel, a Game of Thrones soap
opera where everything is true
*La Libre Belgique*
Full of cliff hangers and moving passages. Irresistible
*Herman Pleij*
Bart van Loo is back and emerges once again as a true storyteller.
Van Loo is the perfect guide through the past. It is as if we are
there
*De Standaard*
A history book that reads like a thriller
*Le Soir*
Colourful and multidimensional: a Belgian master storyteller
*Kulturradio, SWR2*
Narrative history of the highest level... The author conjures the
tastes, smells, colours and feelings of the past'
*Kulturradio, WDR 3*
Thrillingly colourful and entertaining
*Sunday Times*
Most of us think of wine when we hear the word 'Burgundy', but Bart
Van Loo uncovers a lost empire of mad dukes, strange delicacies and
great wealth
*The Times, Books of the Year*
A worthwhile and satisfying read
*Sunday Independent*
A sumptuous feast of a book... Van Loo recreates the world of Ghent
and Bruges in loving detail, a bustling, blood-soaked landscape of
quays, merchants and money changers'
*The Times, '21 best history books of 2021'*
Lively, anecdotal unpicking of this fascinating but nebulous
entity
*New Statesman*
Belgian historian Bart Van Loo tells its story in 'rollicking'
style
*The Week*
Stuffed with elaborate feasts and bloody battles, Van Loo's
thrillingly colourful and entertaining book has been an enormous
success in his native Belgium and it's easy to see why
*Sunday Times*
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