Titles in this set:

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin

Language ‏ : ‎ English

Paperback ‏ : ‎ 640 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0141977493

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 9780141977492

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Allen Lane

Language ‏ : ‎ English

Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 624 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0241304377

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 9780241304372

Description :- 

The idea for the book, which is entirely new, is to invite the reader into intimate conversations with twelve of the most famous manuscripts in existence and to explore with the author what they tell us about nearly a thousand years of medieval history - and sometimes about the modern world too. Christopher de Hamel introduces us to kings, queens, saints, scribes, artists, librarians, thieves, dealers, collectors and the international community of manuscript scholars, showing us how he and his fellows piece together evidence to reach unexpected conclusions. ...

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.