Goodbye Eastern Europe : An Intimate History of a Divided Land

A Spectator Book of the Year 2023

An epic history of the 'other' Europe, a place of conflict and coexistence, of faith and folklore. Eastern Europe is more than the sum total of its annexations, invasions and independence declarations. From the Baltics to the Balkans, from Prague to Kiev, the area exuded a tragicomic character like no other.

This is a paean for a disappearing world of movable borders, sacred groves and syncretism. An invitation to not forget. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, it carefully argues that if something marks out Europe's eastern half, it is not homogeneity but wild, glorious diversity.

A thematic history of a divided half-continent, a goulash of imperial histories, shifting frontiers and heartbreaking family stories, spiced with myth and poet-martyrs, and deeply satisfying on the palate.