Philip C. Bobbitt

The Garments of Court and Palace

In The Garments of Court and Palace, Philip Bobbitt presents a vivid portrait of Machiavelli's Italy and demonstrates how The Prince, when read alongside The Discourses, anticipates the birth of the modern state.

• "With his profound knowledge of history, philosophy, politics and law, Professor Bobbitt has made a major contribution to penetrating the thought of Machiavelli and illuminating its context. The extraordinary intellectual endeavor may well become a new standard interpretation."
  – Henry A. Kissinger
• "A gripping account of Machiavelli's role in the tangled and dangerous politics of the time...Compelling."
  – John Gray, New Statesman
• "At last a book that understands and clearly, and elegantly, gets Machiavelli right...Let's hope that Philip Bobbitt's book will at last put to rest the nonsenses about Machiavelli "teacher of evil" and encourage a new wave of critical thinking."
  – Maurizio Viroli, Professor Emeritus, Princeton, author of Machiavelli: How to Read Machiavelli and Redeeming the Prince: The Meaning of Machiavelli's Masterpiece
• "Bobbitt's courageous book is the work of a thinking man...highlighting easily overlooked statements from Machiavelli about the need for healthy and durable forms of rule."
  – Bill Worden, Literary Review
• "This is far from the first attempt to rescue Machiavelli from the adjective derived from his name, but it is an especially convincing one...Serious and thoughtful."
  – Bill Emmott, The Times