Four Princes: Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, Suleiman the Magnificent and the Obsessions that Forged Modern Europe

Renowned historian John Julius Norwich has crafted a bold tapestry of Europe and the Middle East in the early sixteenth century, when a quartet of legendary rulers—all born within a ten-year period—towered over the era.

Francis I of France was the personification of the Renaissance, and a highly influential patron of the arts and education. Henry VIII, who was not expected to inherit the throne but embraced the role with gusto, broke with the Roman Catholic Church and appointed himself head...