In the second half of the sixteenth century, most of the Christian states of Western Europe were on the defensive against a Muslim superpower - the Empire of the Ottoman sultans. This title describes the paths taken through the eastern Mediterranean and its European hinterland by members of a Venetian-Albanian family.
The book is a masterpiece, which will open the eyes of readers to the intrinsic interest and importance of a historically neglected region of Europe within the framework of a relationship between civilizations which is as complex today as it was in the sixteenth century. Sir John Elliott, Regius Professor of History Emeritus, University of Oxford