Acclaimed historian Simon Sebag Montefiore visits Foyles to celebrate the publication of his newest book Cauldron, with Matthew D'Ancona

The Middle East has forever been the source of religions, prize of empires, spark-wheel of conflicts, well of radicalism and epicentre of our tumultuous world. No other region has such a hold on our imagination nor such a propensity to unleash mayhem. Yet few know its real history; fewer still understand its variety and cosmopolitanism, its complexity and interconnectedness.

In The Cauldron, Simon Sebag Montefiore delivers a fresh and unique history of the entire region in all its diversity, from 1900 up to the present day. Taking the reader on a spectacular journey from the Ottoman sultanate to the Trump presidency, from Morocco to Iran, this is a dazzling panorama of faith and fanaticism, creativity and tolerance, dictatorship and democracy brought to life by an extraordinary cast of kings, warriors, poets, terrorists and peacemakers.

Simon Sebag Montefiore is an internationally bestselling author whose prize-winning books have been published in forty-eight languages. Prizes include the British Book Awards’ History Book of the Year for Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar, the Lupicaia del Terriccio Prize for The Romanovs, the LA Times Book Prize for Young Stalin and the National Library of China’s Wen Jin Prize for Jerusalem. The World: A Family History, a NY Times and Sunday Times bestseller, was named The Times History Book of the Year. He is also the author of the acclaimed Moscow Trilogy of novels.

Matthew d'Ancona is an award-winning editor and journalist. He is editor at large at The New World, co-host of The Two Matts podcast, contributing editor at Prospect and a visiting research fellow at Queen Mary University London. Previously, he was editor of The Spectator and deputy editor of The Sunday Telegraph, and has written columns for the Guardian, GQ, International New York Times, Daily and Sunday Telegraph, and Evening Standard.. His most recent book was a collection of interviews with Sir Michael Caine. In 1989, he was elected a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford.

Your ticket includes a complimentary glass of wine.

*Please note that the Auditorium at Foyles is fully accessible from the Ground floor lifts.

Tickets: £10 General Admission, £8 Foyalty Member / £30 Book and Ticket (including a copy of The Cauldron RRP £25)

Venue: The Auditorium (Level 6) at Foyles, 107 Charing Cross Road*

Description supplied by the event organiser.