The Brattleboro Literary Festival invites you to join us on Friday, December 13, at 5:00 pm. for a discussion on Charles King's new book "The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel's "Messiah." 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 mired in war, enslavement, and 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 and public scorn; an Atlantic sea captain and penniless philanthropist; and an African Muslim man held captive in the American colonies and hatching a dangerous plan for getting back home. At center stage is Handel himself, composer to kings but, at midlife, in ill health and straining to keep an audience's attention. Set amid royal intrigue, theater scandals, and political conspiracy, Every Valley is entertaining, inspiring, unforgettable.crises of modernity. The book was just named to the New York Times Notable Books for 2024. Charles King is the author of the New York Times-bestselling book, Gods of the Upper Air. Online and free. To register, go to https://bit.ly/LitCocktail42

Event Info

Dec 12, 2024, 4 to 4:45 PM

Dec 14, 2024, 11 AM to 1 PM

Dec 15, 2024, 2 to 3:30 PM