John Julius Norwich

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born

September 15, 1929 in The United Kingdom

gender

male

website

http://www.johnjuliusnorwich.com/

genre

History

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Norwich is the only child of the Conservative politician and diplomat Duff Cooper and of Lady Diana Cooper, a celebrated beauty and society figure. Through his father, he is descended from King William IV and his mistress Dorothea Jordan.

He was educated at Upper Canada College, Toronto, Canada (as a wartime evacuee), at Eton College, and at the University of Strasbourg. He served in the Royal Navy before taking a degree in French and Russian at New College, Oxford.

Joining the British Foreign Service after Oxford, John Julius Cooper served in Yugoslavia and Lebanon, and as a member of British delegation to the Disarmament Conference in Geneva. At his father's death in 1954, he inherited the title of Viscount Norwich, created for Duff Cooper...more
Norwich is the only child of the Conservative politician and diplomat Duff Cooper and of Lady Diana Cooper, a celebrated beauty and society figure. Through his father, he is descended from King William IV and his mistress Dorothea Jordan.

He was educated at Upper Canada College, Toronto, Canada (as a wartime evacuee), at Eton College, and at the University of Strasbourg. He served in the Royal Navy before taking a degree in French and Russian at New College, Oxford.

Joining the British Foreign Service after Oxford, John Julius Cooper served in Yugoslavia and Lebanon, and as a member of British delegation to the Disarmament Conference in Geneva. At his father's death in 1954, he inherited the title of Viscount Norwich, created for Duff Cooper in 1952, which made him a member of the British House of Lords.

In 1964, Norwich left the diplomatic service to become a writer. Apart from his many books (see list), he has also served as editor of series such as Great Architecture of the World, The Italian World, The New Shell Guides to Great Britain, The Oxford Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Art and the Duff Cooper Diaries. Norwich has often contributed to Cornucopia, a magazine devoted to the history and culture of Turkey.

Norwich has worked extensively in radio and television. He was host of the BBC radio panel game My Word! for four years (1978-1982) and also a regional contestant on Round Britain Quiz. He has written and presented some 30 television documentaries, including The Fall of Constantinople, Napoleon's Hundred Days, Cortés and Montezuma, The Antiquities of Turkey, The Gates of Asia, Maximilian of Mexico, Toussaint l'Ouverture of Haiti, The Knights of Malta and The Death of the Prince Imperial in the Zulu War.

Norwich has also worked for various charitable projects. He is Chairman of the Venice in Peril Fund, Honorary Chairman of the World Monuments Fund, and a Vice-President of the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies[2]. For many years he was a member of the Executive Committee of the National Trust, and also served on the Board of English National Opera.

Lord Norwich was appointed CVO in 1992 after acting as curator of a Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition entitled 'Sovereign', which marked the 40th anniversary of the accession of H. M. The Queen.

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Books by John Julius Norwich

Average rating: 4.03 · 2,117 ratings · 282 reviews · 66 distinct works

	A Short History of Byzantium 4.03 avg rating — 416 ratings — published 1997 — 8 editions	My rating:
	Byzantium: The Early Centuries by John Julius Norwich, Elizabeth Sifton (Editor) 4.27 avg rating — 288 ratings — published 1988 — 3 editions	My rating:
	A History of Venice by John Julius Norwich, Peter Dimock (Editor) 4.16 avg rating — 235 ratings — published 1982 — 7 editions	My rating:
	Byzantium: The Decline and Fall 4.30 avg rating — 217 ratings — published 1995 — 4 editions	My rating:
	Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy 3.45 avg rating — 255 ratings — published 2011 — 10 editions	My rating:
	Byzantium: The Apogee 4.35 avg rating — 199 ratings — published 1992 — 3 editions	My rating:
	The Middle Sea 3.67 avg rating — 138 ratings — published 2006 — 9 editions	My rating:
	Shakespeare's Kings: The Great Plays and the History of England in the Middle Ages: 1337-1485 3.85 avg rating — 73 ratings — published 1999 — 4 editions	My rating:
	The Normans in Sicily: The Normans in the South 1016-1130 and the Kingdom in the Sun 1130-1194 4.37 avg rating — 54 ratings — published 1967 — 3 editions	My rating:
	Paradise of Cities: Venice in the Nineteenth Century 3.65 avg rating — 52 ratings — published 2003 — 6 editions	My rating:

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Quotes by John Julius Norwich

“The Patriarch Joseph, after agreeing with the Latins that their formula of the Holy Ghost proceeding FROM the Son meant the same as the Greek formula of the Holy Ghost proceeding THROUGH the Son, fell ill and died. An unkind scholar remarked that after muddling his prepositions what else could he decently do?' (Sir Steven Runciman, The Fall of Constantinople, pp. 17-18).”
― John Julius Norwich, A History of Venice

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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The History Book ...: BYZANTIUM: THE SURPRISING LIFE OF A MEDIEVAL EMPIRE - TOC AND SYLLABUS	72	180	Dec 11, 2011 03:08pm
Around the World ...: Turkey	3	57	Feb 25, 2012 07:12pm
The History Book ...: 2. BYZANTIUM... December 12th ~ December 18th ~~ Part One - Chapters THREE - FOUR (22 - 50); No Spoilers Please	100	66	Mar 24, 2012 02:16am
Around the World ...: Italy	8	50	Mar 30, 2012 02:24pm
The History Book ...: * THE CRUSADES - GENERAL DISCUSSION	275	281	May 05, 2012 08:13am
The History Book ...: RECENTLY ACQUIRED BOOKS	374	206	May 19, 2012 11:13am

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