Nostradamus: The Man Behind the Prophecies

For over five centuries, Nostradamus has enjoyed an unrivalled reputation for his claimed abilities to predict the future--from the Great Fire of London, to the rise of Adolf Hitler to the attack on the World Trade Center In this definitive biography, Oxford-educated and bestselling historian Ian Wilson has turned to the seer's little-known private letters to reveal fascinating new details about his career, from his remedies for the Black Plague to his ambitious matrimonial match-making for France's King Charles IX. Objective and in-depth, Nostradamus extracts the facts and exposes the man behind the legend for the first time. It reveals a complex, family-loving individual who in his own lifetime influenced powerful political figures far removed from his home base in France, and who has continued to command a reputation as a prophet second to none. "Wilson's book is by far the most accurate and comprehensive account of
Nostradamus's life since Brind'Amour . . . wonderfully researched and fully documented."
--Peter Lemesurier, author of The Nostradamus Encyclopedia and The Unknown Nostradamus

"[A] fair-minded treatment of a character with an enduring hold on the popular imagination."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Wilson [treats] Nostradamus as a man rather than a mysterious presence."
--Publisher's Weekly Ian Wilson has a degree in history from Oxford University and is the author of the highly acclaimed bestsellers The Turin Shroud, The Blood and the Shroud, and Jesus: The Evidence. His most recent book is Murder at Golgotha. Wilson lives in Queensland, Australia.