It is immediately obvious from the first pages of this blisteringly superb book that a dominant undercurrent is the restrained exasperation of the teacher attempting to explain, to uncomprehending dolts, once again, that the earth moves around the Sun because of gravity. This is school teacher Sebag Montefiore at his absolute best. The story he tells is simple, yet complex. It needs, first & foremost, to be understood. To be understood, it needs to be explained. It has been written to de-sting the viper of ignorance. It could be angry, but is not. Instead it oozes authoritative restraint, lubricated by the sublime use of language. I cannot emphasise enough how the author is the master swordsman of the English tongue. It is not a dynastic narrative like ‘The Romanovs’, nor an historic travelogue like ‘Jerusalem’. It is, instead, a book written for recalcitrant learners by a still-patient teacher, restraining himself with the exasperated ‘have you not seen, have you not heard?’ of the prophet Isaiah. It’s telling us to ditch our preconceived certainties and embrace the complexity of a world that relishes too much its simplicities. The narrative sweep is of the recent history of the Middle East (1909-2026), a region that is both the crucible (‘Cauldron’ even) of the world and the repository of its most ancient bigotries. The reshaping of the region following the demise of the Ottoman Empire has seen not merely expressions of power, local, regional and international, but the resurgence of the hatred of Jews, the restatement of Islamist certainties, the emergence of many new powers and, crucially, a rejection of both the idea and the reality of Israel. It also saw, from the ashes of both Constantinople in 1919 and New Delhi in 1947 a series of new & competing nationalisms that have blistered themselves to ancient certainties and prejudices that, alongside external meddling, keep the region in turmoil. Yet it has also seen pragmatism as well as religious certainty, idiocy as well as genius. Is this a book about Israel? No, but overwhelmingly, Yes. Israel looms large in the whole. Although Sebag Montefiore’s story is focused on the broad sweep of leadership across the region’s 19 states the centrality of the Jewish question to the recent history of the region makes the book also the story of Israel, and its role in the creation of the region’s modern polity, rivalries and interests. Pleasingly, one can see how this is a book designed to demonstrate to the dunces in the class the fervency of the Dalrymple and the simplicities of the Lineker simply do not work. It’s not hard to see its origins in the futile exchanges on Twitter/X in the years since 7 Oct 2023. It will do nothing to change the minds of those cursed with the vilest of hatreds, the warriors of anti-semitism who, like Miller and Albanese, are the cavalry of the apocalypse, bloody swords aloft, calling civilisation to its doom, but perhaps it will do something to teach the rest of us that Israel, for example, is the product not of Zionism, but of the very hatreds that fuel the anti-Semitic narrative. Jews of the diaspora came back together for the first time in 2,000 years to secure precisely the protection and freedom that the world had refused to give them and wishes still to dismantle. It was fuelled by the forced exodus of Jews from their Babylonian exile across the Middle East, the product of the very exclusionary hatreds that diminished the countries that expelled them and helped create an Israel that was anchored not in the ghettos of Lvov, but in the Middle East. 1948 was an expression of self-determination, not of colonialism, an end to victimhood and a determination by the world’s most persecuted minority to take their destiny in their own hands, not to allow it to be subject any longer to the ridiculous hatreds of others. I cannot describe how beautifully this book is written. You’ll need to read it for yourselves to see what I mean.

What if stepping into a hotel meant stepping back in time? When Pixie Tate crosses the threshold of the Aldershoff Hotel, she’s drawn into a mystery hidden for over a century—and a love she thought she’d lost forever. SECRETS OF THE STARLIT SEA by @SantaMontefiore is a sweeping time-travel romance you won’t want to miss. bit.ly/4ulktlo

The spellbinding time-travel romance series from @SantaMontefiore continues and the stakes have never been higher. Pixie Tate returns, drawn to a glittering relic of New York’s Gilded Age. What she uncovers will test her gift, her promise… and her heart. Secrets on the Starlit Sea is coming March 17. Preorder here: bit.ly/4ulktlo

Manhattan. The Gilded Age. A sky full of stars. When Pixie Tate steps into the Aldershoff Hotel, she senses the past calling her. What she doesn’t expect is to come face-to-face with a man she thought she’d lost forever… SECRETS ON THE STARLIT SEA by @SantaMontefiore is a sweeping time-travel mystery for readers who love high society intrigue and impossible choices. Coming March 17. Preorder now! bit.ly/4ulktlo

#SecretsoftheStarlitSea by @SantaMontefiore is currently 99p on the #Kindle! Could Pixie Tate safeguard the future when she is drawn back to Gilded Age New York and confronted with the secrets and the man she thought she had lost? #BookTwitter amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CVN4DPLN

Amidst the whirlwind of horrible scandals and atrocious wars that is our world today, here is a v small but troubling manifestation of our crazy times. A day ago, my attention was drawn to a photograph posted on X that showed a local bookstore in Oslo, Norway where the staff had organized a display entitled ‘Epstein Island Guest List.’ I was horrified to see that one of my books was included. I have never been to Jeffrey Epstein’s island, never flown on his planes, never visited any of his properties, and—most crucially—never even met him or communicated with him. When alerted, the Norli Bokhandel immediately removed my book before any action was required and apologized in person and online for the libel and defamatory display. I would have never known about this if it had not been posted on social media but because we live in a lawless arena, a wild and irresponsible digital vortex, the picture has been seen by many people. As the great Mark Twain supposedly wrote: ‘a lie travels round the world before the truth can even get its boots on’ and these days, it seems that a lie can circumnavigate the planet if not the galaxy many times before we even realize it. For a terrifying moment, I was lightly touched by the poisonous tentacles of Epstein, for a second I sensed the passing of that sinister shadow. The origin of the libel was that I was listed in Ghislaine Maxwell’s address-book she supposedly shared with Epstein because I knew her from England decades ago - though I never met or communicated with him. Over the last few years, the fact that I was listed in this address-book has been used maliciously against me by Stalinists and other political extremists, the former being infuriated for arcane reasons by my Stalin biographies. Of course I don’t for a minute compare my storm in a teacup to the suffering of the victims and survivors. But it is still a frightening Kafka-esque experience because a certain amount of damage is done even when things are taken down. It just shows how easy it is for innocent people to have their names traduced. Even though the bookshop has asked many people to take down the libel, very few bother to correct online lies and falsehoods. There is little practical remedy - except of course one can sue for a clear and very defamatory libel. No one is immune to this: I know many of the people who retweeted this defamation were not malicious and it makes me realize that I myself and all of us need to be careful: it is a real danger for individuals and our societies and as AI delivers better, and more uncanny and diabolical deepfakery, the peril is only going to get worse. A lesson I have drawn from the last two days is that I myself spend too much time on social media and now I should just get back to writing books – which I hope one day will appear on the shelves of a certain Oslo bookshop…. And if you are interested, here is the apology from the bookshop and its display - before and after

#SecretsoftheStarlitSea by @SantaMontefiore is out in Paperback! Happy Paperback #PublicationDay! A psychic investigator steps into a once‑grand New York hotel and using her rare ability to slip through time, uncovers a mystery that refuses to stay buried. amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CVN4DPLN

HUGE eBook price drop on @SantaMontefiore #LastVoyageOfTheValentina... Grab your copy now for just 99p! ‘Nobody does epic romance like Santa Montefiore’ JOJO MOYES ‘Santa Montefiore hits the spot for my like few other writers’ SARRA MANNING simonandschuster.co.uk/books…

Only 10 hours to go bid for a signed copy of Secrets of the Starlit Sea to raise money for Children in Read 2025. Link is below. 🙏🏻🥰📚🙏🏻

This is the ultimate joy about writing books! It doesn’t get more rewarding than this!!

#AuthorInterview Love and Time Travel An interview with @SantaMontefiore aspectsofhistory.com/author_… @orionbooks #historicalfiction #historylovers #authorrt

Children in Read 2025 all proceeds in aid of @BBCCiN The wonderful Emma Finlayson-Palmer @FinlaysonPalmer is on board with a fabulous lot to help BBC Children in Need. Bid for Emma's lot here 👇 jumblebee.co.uk/auction/deta… #BBCChildreninneed #Childreninread

#AuthorInterview Love and Time Travel An interview with @SantaMontefiore aspectsofhistory.com/author_… @orionbooks #historicalfiction #historylovers #authorrt

#AuthorInterview Love and Time Travel An interview with @SantaMontefiore aspectsofhistory.com/author_… @orionbooks #historicalfiction #historylovers #authorrt

Wow! This is amazing! What a beautiful project! Thank you for choosing our rabbits! 🐰 ❤️🥰 You’ve done a magnificent job!

#AuthorInterview Love and Time Travel An interview with @SantaMontefiore aspectsofhistory.com/author_… @orionbooks #historicalfiction #historylovers #authorrt

Excited to share a kindle daily deal on ebookdaily for the first in the Timeslider Trilogy: SHADOWS IN THE MOONLIGHT: $0.99. Here’s the link: ebookdaily.com/bargain-kindl…

Auction live for the wonderful charity Children in Read…. Delighted to take part! ❤️

⭐️25% off my new hardback⭐️ Here’s the link waterstones.com/book/secrets…

Happy @AmazonKindle Daily Deal Day @SantaMontefiore! Grab #AnItalianGirlInBrooklyn - a spellbinding story of buried secrets and new beginnings - for just 99p today only! simonandschuster.co.uk/books…