The Middle Kingdoms: A New History of Central Europe

*The dramatic history of Europe's shape-shifting centre, from the author of The Habsburgs*

Central Europe is not just a space on a map but also a region of shared experience - of mutual borrowings, impositions and misapprehensions. From the Roman Empire onwards, it has been the target of invasion from the east. In the Middle Ages, Central Europeans cast their eastern foes as 'the dogmen'. They would later become the Turks, Swedes, Russians and Soviets, all of whom pulled the region apart and remade it according to their own vision.

Competition among Europe's Middle Kingdoms yielded repeated cultural effervescences. This was the first home of the High Renaissance outside Italy, the cradle of the Reformation, the starting point of the Enlightenment, Romanticism, the symphony and modern nationalism. It was a permanent battleground too for religious and political ideas.

Most recent histories of Central Europe confine themselves to the lands in between Germany and Russia, homing in on Poland, Hungary, and what is now the Czech Republic. This new history embraces the whole of Central Europe, including the German lands as well as Ukraine and Switzerland. The story of Europe's Middle Kingdoms is a reminder of Central Europe's precariousness, of its creativity and turbulence, and of the common cultural trends that make these lands so distinctive.

Review

Fascinating, masterful ... The breadth of Rady's coverage is as impressive as it is eclectic, with gems scattered throughout the book. -- Peter Frankopan ― Spectator

This is a very impressive book, quirkily original but also scholarly and authoritative, to be read for pleasure and serious reflection, whether in a beer hall in Prague or a pastry shop in Vienna - or a bomb shelter in Kyiv. -- Noel Malcolm ― The Telegraph

A brilliantly suggestive account of central Europe from Attila to Zizek. The Middle Kingdoms is a masterly synthesis. ― The Times

About the Author

Martyn Rady is Masaryk Professor of Central European History at University College London. He has written several major works on the history of Hungary, from the medieval period to the twentieth century, but has also written on topics as diverse as the Hussites, vampirism and the Emperor Charles V. Rady's last book, The Habsburgs, was described in the Times Literary Supplement as 'probably the best book ever written on the Habsburgs in any language'.