Listen to a sample
The Great Siege of Malta
- Author
- Marcus Bull
- Narrator
- Justin Avoth
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Publish Date
- 30 January 2025
- Run Time
- 9 hours 41 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
Even as the great siege began it was understood by both sides to be an epic – a potentially decisive encounter between an uneasy assortment of soldiers, native Maltese, adventurers and Knights Hospitaller on a strategically crucial but near waterless island and a vast, seemingly all-powerful Ottoman armada. With three quarters of the Mediterranean’s coasts already in the hands of the Sultan and his allies, all eyes were now on Malta.
This superb new account of the siege emphasises the crucial importance of the siege while at the same time putting it in a far wider context. While seen as a climactic battle between the West and the East, it was also much more nuanced than that – both sides had many other interests and priorities beyond Malta. Suleiman the Magnificent had conquered and subsumed regions from Hungary to the Persian Gulf; Philip II was building an empire in America and Asia.
Drawing on a wide range of eyewitness stories, Marcus Bull gives a vivid sense of the period’s technologies, values and assumptions. It was a grim world built on the labour of many thousands of disposable galley-slaves, shockingly brutal forms of warfare and religious absolutism. But it was also a world filled with the most extraordinary new discoveries and ideas. Both these worlds come together in the siege and in this book.
© Marcus Bull 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025
Critics Review
-
An engrossing new study… Bull’s account of the siege itself is lucid and dispassionate. He has a sharp eye for bombast – representing the failed defence of St Elmo as a heroic act of self-sacrifice, for example – that might obscure uncomfortable truths… Bull has set himself a challenging task: to convey the drama of the siege and the myths that grew out of it while downplaying, if not denying, suggestions of its wider historical importance. It’s a difficult balancing act, but one he pulls off with aplomb
Literary Review
-
Marcus Bull’s revisiting of the siege through the eyes of the Ottomans and a global lens that shifts our angle of vision has made a considerable contribution to our understanding of the events of 1565... his approach is investigatory, based on a forensic study of all the available evidence and posing open-ended questions... the coverage of the siege itself is succinct and full of interesting perspectives
Engelsberg Ideas
-
‘Impressive, deeply researched… Rather than pursue old religious agendas and messianic readings of the triumph Bull places the siege in a broad global economic and political context
Naval Review
-
Thorough and propulsive
New Statesman
See more reviews See fewer reviews
-
A vivid account of a close-run thing … peculiarly fascinating
The Oldie
-
Thoughtful and incisive… a great strength of Bull’s book is precisely that he often dissents from received opinion… he has provided an impressive reassessment, rich in penetrating insights, of a major moment in the history of the Mediterranean
TLS
-
An epic account… [a] no-nonsense, myth-busting book… [Bull] writes with knightly brio and packs a great deal of local and global history into his authoritative book
The Times
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Marcus Bull
- Narrator
- Justin Avoth
- Duration
- 9 hours 41 minutes
- Release Date
- 30 January 2025
- ISBN
- 9781802069570
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Genre
- Specific wars and military campaigns, European history, Middle Eastern history, Early modern warfare (including gunpowder warfare)
Synopsis
Brought to you by Penguin. Even as the great siege began it was understood by both sides to be an epic – a potentially decisive encounter between an uneasy assortment of soldiers, native Maltese, adventurers and Knights Hospitaller on a strategically crucial but near waterless island and a vast, seemingly all-powerful Ottoman armada. With three quarters of the Mediterranean’s coasts already in the hands of the Sultan and his allies, all eyes were now on Malta.This superb new account of the siege emphasises the crucial importance of the siege while at the same time putting it in a far wider context. While seen as a climactic battle between the West and the East, it was also much more nuanced than that – both sides had many other interests and priorities beyond Malta. Suleiman the Magnificent had conquered and subsumed regions from Hungary to the Persian Gulf; Philip II was building an empire in America and Asia.Drawing on a wide range of eyewitness stories, Marcus Bull gives a vivid sense of the period’s technologies, values and assumptions. It was a grim world built on the labour of many thousands of disposable galley-slaves, shockingly brutal forms of warfare and religious absolutism. But it was also a world filled with the most extraordinary new discoveries and ideas. Both these worlds come together in the siege and in this book.© Marcus Bull 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025
About xigxag
xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.
There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.
Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.
Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.