The Posthumous Papers of the Manuscripts Club
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd
Published:27th Oct '22
£40.00
Available for immediate dispatch.
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£16.99(9780241304389)
The illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages are among the greatest works of European art and literature. We are dazzled by them and recognize their crucial role in the transmission of knowledge. But we generally think much less about the countless men and women who made, collected and preserved them through the centuries, and to whom they owe their existence.
This entrancing book describes some of the extraordinary people who have spent their lives among illuminated manuscripts over the last thousand years. A monk in Normandy, a prince of France, a Florentine bookseller, an English antiquary, a rabbi from central Europe, a French priest, a Keeper at the British Museum, a Greek forger, a German polymath, a British connoisseur and the woman who created the most spectacular library in America - all of them were participants in what Christopher de Hamel calls the Manuscripts Club.
This exhilarating fraternity, and the fellow enthusiasts who come with it, throw new light on how manuscripts have survived and been used by very different kinds of people in many different circumstances. Christopher de Hamel's unexpected connections and discoveries reveal a passion which crosses the boundaries of time. We understand the manuscripts themselves better by knowing who their keepers and companions have been.
In 1850 (or thereabouts) John Ruskin bought his first manuscript 'at a bookseller's in a back alley'. This was his reaction: 'The new worlds which every leaf of this book opened to me, and the joy I had in counting their letters and unravelling their arabesques as if they had all been of beaten gold - as many of them were - cannot be told.' The members of de Hamel's club share many such wonders, which he brings to us with scholarship, style, and a lifetime's experience.
Reading the Posthumous Papers is like taking a walk in excellent company ... an exceptional book, and itself an object worth cherishing. -- Daniel Brooks * Sunday Telegraph *
This book can be enjoyed on so many levels. The illustrations are exquisite and the writing ... is intelligent, illuminating, voluptuous and mischievous. The members of the club are brought to life with sensitivity; we can't help but find their nerdiness endearing. ... The most delightful feature of this book is, however, the author. I've never encountered one so willing to bare his soul, without ever explicitly setting out to do so. He throws open the doors to his world, exposing its beguiling nature. Sit at my table, he says, feast on what I adore. "The Club is still open for membership . . . All applicants are warmly admitted."' -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times *
In this stunningly beautiful book, Christopher de Hamel constructs an imaginary club of people who adore mediaeval manuscripts; bibliophiles whose obsession he shares. The 12 delightfully eccentric members span eight centuries - de Hamel imagines meeting them, sharing precious discoveries, trading gossip. The illustrations emit a light of their own, but what shines even brighter is the author's boyish enthusiasm for his subject. * Times Books of the Year *
a beautifully produced and magnificently surprising journey through the history of how and why people have wanted to collect manuscripts. An impossibly recondite subject, you might think; but it turns out to have a lot to do with all sorts of things about how we make sense of our histories and cultures - and it introduces us to a gallery of unforgettable characters. -- Rowan Williams * New Statesman Books of the Year *
Christopher de Hamel ... has the rare capacity to turn a scholarly specialism into a humane and humorous adventure. ... De Hamel retains an almost lyrical sense of wonder as he unclasps each groaning tome, opens its parched pages and lightly steps into the alternative world painted by its illuminators. ... he speaks of "meeting a beautiful manuscript" rather than reading it and his own book makes you feel you've spent time - a very long but absorbing time - in his convivial company. -- Peter Conrad * Guardian *
Christopher de Hamel's great gift is to tell life stories without taking anything away from the manuscripts, which remain the star of the show. Thanks to the beautiful illustrations in this wonderful book, we can see for ourselves how spellbinding an encounter with them must have been. Five years ago de Hamel entranced the world with his Meeting with Remarkable Manuscripts. This time the meetings are with remarkable manuscript owners, and the result is equally precious -- Kathryn Hughes * Sunday Times *
gloriously engaging and readable ... De Hamel wears his erudition lightly, and the reader is taken deeply into the worlds of individuals who lived across almost a thousand years of history -- Richard Ovenden * Financial Times *
The story of the people who created, saved and collected Europe's most sumptuous manuscripts, it's beautifully illustrated, a rich feast of scarlet and gold. -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times Books of the Year *
an eccentric but charming and instructive book which is oddly difficult to put down -- Jonathan Sumption * Spectator *
The twelve accumulators de Hamel profiles in this delightful book have, taken together, been responsible for making and preserving some of the most beautiful and important objects to have survived the Middle Ages … a joy, both deeply scholarly and wittily humane, the writing infused throughout with de Hamel’s vast and genial expertise … a fascinating book -- Tim Smith-Laing * Literary Review *
De Hamel is the perfect guide to this unusual world … well stocked with extraordinary facts and overflowing with enthusiasm for his subject … He welcomes us into the Manuscripts Club, and makes sure that we never want to leave -- Guy Stagg * Tablet *
The text is engagingly written, inviting the reader to follow the author on his travels to study these people in their own environments … The club is open. * History Today *
The reader is offered a wealth of information and entertainment … Here is great learning delivered in a wrapper of Pickwickian whimsy. -- Michael Wheeler * Church Times *
De Hamel’s infectious tribute to the pages that came before printing should encourage everyone to join their celebratory club. -- Derek Turner * The Lady *
A remarkable scholarly achievement. -- James Waddell * TLS *
Lively ... De Hamel’s encyclopedic knowledge and irrepressible enthusiasm for his subject animate the whole. * Booklist *
Expansive ... De Hamel’s fascination with rare manuscripts shines throughout ... sure to entertain. * Publishers Weekly *
Fascinating and multilayered ... dense with facts and dates but never dry. De Hamel, manuscript consultant for Sotheby's since 1975, is a charming and knowledgeable guide, and his ‘visits’ with his subjects – tours of their residences or libraries – brings their obsessions to vivid life ... An impressive immersion in the storied precincts of art connoisseurship. * Kirkus Reviews *
Continuously intriguing and surprisingly lively . . . lavishly illustrated and unfailingly engaging. It is a love letter to collectors across nearly 10 centuries, written by an expert, imbued with passion for his subject . . . Once readers look inside, they will be hooked. In every respect, this title is a winner. * Library Journal *
ISBN: 9780241304372
Dimensions: 238mm x 168mm x 53mm
Weight: 1500g
624 pages