Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment
“James Gaines writes with great beauty and intelligence…an exciting saga that brings the turmoil of the Enlightenment alive.” (Walter Isaacson, author of BENJAMIN FRANKLIN)“History winningly told , with the immediacy of a great novel...Gaines paints a whole age with the skill of Tuchman.” (Mary Karr, author of THE LIARS CLUB and CHERRY)“Evening in the Palace of Reason has given me enormous pleasure and instruction.” (Jan Morris, author of A Writer’s House in Wales)“First rate...[Gaines] writes superbly and makes us feel at home with things that would have sounded arcane otherwise.” (Daily Telegraph (London))“A moving portrait...Gaines has a deep understanding of music and an infectious zeal for narrative history.” (People (four stars))“Gaines maps sweeping cultural history with dazzling virtuosity…You won’t find a more lucid and engaging guide.” (Entertainment Weekly)“A book-length romp that is less like a B-Minor Mass than an Italian opera…Wonderful.” (Harper's Magazine)“Gaines writes very accessibly…A marvelous story that will captivate the classical music audience.” (Booklist)“Highly entertaining… Lovers of music, European history, and Western philosophy will find this book an enormous pleasure.” (Library Journal (starred review))“An eloquent and fascinating study, highly debatable at points yet all the more stimulating for that…Accessible and entertaining.” (Time magazine)“Gaines elegantly sketches parallel biographies of the two protagonists....His enthusiasm is infectious.” (New York Sun)“Intelligent, stylish, wryly witty, serious yet never solemn, and above all passionate in its celebration of a great composer.” (The Guardian)“Articulate, well-informed and rigorous…Gaines makes this dauntingly technical subject accessible.” (Sunday Telegraph)“Impossible to put down when one is dancing, swerving, stumbling through [the] extraordinary brilliance…a wonderfully engaging tale.” (The Independent (Sunday))“Lively…with a delicious cast of characters…Gaines shows himself a deft writer.” (Denver Post)“Filled with sensible speculation and insights, Gaines’ books is a model for humanities writing.” (San Antonio Express-News)“Gaines writes with admirable erudition…No author could want a more promising pair of antagonists.” (New York Times Book Review)