The Great Siege: Malta 1565 – still a great read

Ernle Bradford’s account of the attack on Malta in 1565 by the Ottoman Empire, published just short of its 400th anniversary in 1961, has remained a standard work on the subject because, although not a detailed scholarly account it is readable, accessible, entertaining and (probably) mostly accurate.

The paucity of sources makes assurance about accuracy hard to secure, and Bradford does a good job acknowledging how the acts of ordinary Maltese – as opposed to those of the invaders or defending Christian knights – were mostly lost to the historical record despite their role in the siege being so important.

The underlying story, of the Ottoman Empire at its peak, being held off by a small band of Christian defenders played a large part in the subsequent cultural attitudes which still linger on and have an impact today. It is also a story surprisingly short of epic Hollywood adaptations or pot boiler books, by Bradford does a good jot at entertaining the reader with some gripping narrative which does not underplay the horrific cruelty and violence that the siege entailed.

The audio version is brilliantly narrated by Simon Vance.

If you like this, you might also be interested in Empires of the Sea – The Final Battle for the Mediterranean.

Buy The Great Siege: Malta 1565 by Ernle Bradford here.