Peter Robb Books

The controversial, ground-breaking biography of Caravaggio

The narrative delves into the lives of remarkable individuals, exploring their inner worlds and experiences through the lens of an extraordinary writer. It captures the depth of human emotion and the complexity of personal stories, revealing how each person's journey is shaped by their unique perspectives and circumstances. The book offers a profound reflection on the connections between lives and the stories that define us.

Delving into Brazil's baroque past, Peter Robb writes about its history of slavery and the richly multicultural but disturbed society that was left in its wake when the practice was abolished in the late nineteenth century. Even today, Brazil is a hation of almost unimaginable distance between its wealthy and its poor, a place of extraordinary levels of crime and violence. It is also one of the most beautiful and seductive places on earth. Using the art and the food, and the books of its great nineteenth century writer, Machado de Assis, Robb takes us on a journey into a world like Conrad's Nostromo. A world so absurdly dramatic, like the current president Lula's fight for power, that it could have come from one of the country's immensely popular TV soap operas, a world where resolution is often only provided by death. Like all the best travel writing, A Death in Brazil immerses you deep into the heart of a fascinating country. Vivid, obsessive and intelligent, this is an utterly enthralling account.

A vivid memoir which brings Naples and its extraordinary history to life

A journey into the heart of Sicily, using art, food, history and literature to shed light on southern Italy's legacy of political corruption and violent crime. The book takes as its starting point the ongoing trial of seven-times Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti.

Focusing on agrarian policy, the book examines the complexities of British rule in nineteenth-century India, exploring both the ideological foundations and the real-world impacts on the Indian populace. It delves into how these policies shaped social and economic structures, revealing the intricate relationship between governance and agriculture during this pivotal period in history.

Focusing on the period between 1870 and 1920, the book examines the intricate relationship between agriculture, development, and poverty under British rule in India's Patna Division, Bihar. It analyzes how British policies shaped the economy and explores the effects of legal, administrative, and scientific interventions on rural life and societal norms, providing a comprehensive understanding of colonial influence on local conditions.

L'intera esistenza di Michelangelo Merisi, noto come 'il Caravaggio', resta ancora oggi un enigma ricco di fascino. Grazie alla sua sensibilità e alle sue lunghe ricerche su documenti di prima mano, Peter Robb fa rivivere in queste pagine l'uomo e l'artista in tutta la sua potente drammaticità. Dall'infanzia in Lombardia al lungo periodo trascorso a Roma, fino ai trionfi professionali e alla catastrofe esistenziale degli ultimi anni; la condanna per omicidio, la fuga a Napoli e a Malta, il carcere, l'evasione e la misteriosa scomparsa. Rifiutando infatti le classiche versioni sulla morte di Caravaggio, Robb la inserisce in un inquietante contesto di vendetta sessuale, tradimenti, collusioni di stato, rivelando il nome di chi fu, con ogni probabilità, il mandante dell'assassinio del pittore. M non è una biografia tradizionale - è la storia vera dell'uomo che ha cambiato per sempre l'arte, liberandola dalle catene dell'ideologia e riuscendo a dipingere la realtà in modo brutale e sconvolgente.