"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.