Matthew Kneale sa narodil v Londýne v roku 1960 a študoval modernú históriu na Oxfordskej univerzite. Po absolvovaní v roku 1982 strávil rok výučbou angličtiny v Japonsku, kde začal písať poviedky. Kneale je synom spisovateľov Nigela Knealea a Judith Kerr. Jeho literárne dielo sa vyznačuje hlbokým záujmom o historické udalosti a ich dopad na ľudské životy. Vo svojej tvorbe skúma zložité vzťahy medzi minulosťou a prítomnosťou.
Determined to prove the literal truth of the Bible, the Reverend Wilson sets out from England, in the summer of 1857, to find the Garden of Eden, convinced it lies on the island of Tasmania. Unknown to him, others in his party have very different agendas.
An East–West culture clash beats at the heart of this wry first novel by Matthew Kneale—author of English Passengers, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award.
Understanding Our Most Extraordinary Invention
Exploring the origins of spirituality, this book delves into the motivations behind prehistoric man's early calls to the spirit world and examines how these beliefs evolved over time. It highlights the influence of spirituality on various cultures and leaders, from shamans and pharaohs to modern religious movements, illustrating the profound impact of faith on human history and society. The narrative investigates the enduring nature of belief and its role in shaping civilizations across millennia.
A fascinating history of the city of Rome, seen through the eyes of its most significant sackings, from the Gauls to the Nazis and everything in between.
What first prompted prehistoric man, sheltering in the shadows of deep caves, to call upon the realm of the spirits? And as our dreams and nightmares have changed over the millennia, so have our beliefs - from shamans to Aztec priests, from Buddhists to Christians: the gods we created have evolved with us.
A warm and affectionate portrait of a city and a people under lockdown during the Covid-19 crisis, from the award-winning and Sunday Times bestselling author of Rome: A History in Seven Sackings.
How do you cope when your family is falling apart?
A well-intentioned English family unwittingly becomes complicit in state violence while traveling through China. A ploddingly respectable London lawyer chances upon a stash of cocaine and realizes it offers the wealth and status he's always hungered for. A salesman in Africa gets caught up in a riot, and a Palestinian suicide bomber has a moment of self-doubt. Kneale transports readers across continents in a nanosecond, reaching to the heart of faraway societies with rare perceptiveness. With wry humor and razor-sharp satire, these twelve thought-provoking stories illuminate the moral uncertainty of our time.
The year 1289. A rich farmer fears he'll go to hell for cheating his neighbours. His wife wants pilgrim badges to sew into her hat and show off at church. A poor, ragged villager is convinced his beloved cat is suffering in the fires of purgatory and must be rescued. A mother is convinced her son's dangerous illness is punishment for her own adultery and seeks forgiveness so he may be cured. A landlord is in trouble with the church after he punched an abbot on the nose. A sexually driven noblewoman seeks a divorce so she can marry her new young beau. These are among a group of pilgrims that sets off on the tough and dangerous journey from England to Rome, where they hope all their troubles will be answered. Some in the party who have their own, secret reasons for going. Matthew Kneale is the author of English Passengers and Rome: A History in Seven Sackings. His new novel, Pilgrims, is a riveting, sweeping narrative that shows medieval society in a new light, as a highly rule-bound, legalistic world, though religious fervour and the threat of violence are never far below the surface. Told by multiple narrators, Pilgrims has much to say about Englishness, then and now.
The man of his family, nine-year-old Lawrence watches protectively over his mother and little sister, especially when, feeling endangered by their estranged father, his mother decides the three of them must leave their life in England to seek refuge in Rome, where, although short of money, they build a new life, until the trouble that brought them to Italy returns. 20,000 first printing.
