Every Valley: The Story of Handel’s Messiah

The extraordinary true story of intertwined lives that lies behind Handel’s Messiah, the most performed piece of classical music ever written

London – Dublin, 1741-42.
An actress mired in scandal plans her escape from an abusive husband.
A penniless sea captain sets out to rescue the city’s abandoned infants.
An African Muslim and former captive in the colonies becomes a celebrity.
A grieving political dissident seeks release from his torment.
And a great composer to kings – George Frideric Handel – now ill and straining to keep an audience’s attention, faces a decision that will secure his place in history.

Evoking a pivotal moment at the birth of modernity, a time of fear, conspiracy and uprising, and featuring some of the most unusual and brilliant personalities of the eighteenth century, Every Valley is a cinematic and moving drama of hope in the darkness and the entangled lives that shaped a masterpiece.

Format: Hardback
Pages: 352
Imprint: Bodley Head UK
Publication date: 16/12/2024