Deceptions and Perceptions

Giovanni Bonello's Histories of Malta is the first volume in a series of forthcoming publications. Collected here are 34 contributions of a historical nature, ranging from topics of Malta's Islamic past, in the article about Majmuna's tombstone, to the Fascist interest in the Island as reflected in postal history. The subjects are diverse and unrelated but are held together through their Maltese connection.

The book is once again a product of years of research and in-depth study delivered in the form of 'micro-history', Bonello's favourite style of writing. This publication is therefore an entirely enjoyable experience to the reader and most of all to the Melitensia lovers.

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CONTENTS

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New Light on Majmuna’s Tombstone

The Sorcerer Mattew Falzun and the Earliest Infiltrations of Lutheranism

The Two Lanfreducci Knights of Malta

The Voice of Valletta’s Streets

The Maltese who Fooled Urban VIII and Richelieu

Sebastian Zammet - Pimp and Banker to Henry IV

The Earliest Maltese Encyclopedia, 1644

The Maltese who Pioneered Chocolate in Europe

Notes for a History of Sexual Diversity in Malta

Espionage and the Knights of Malta

Music for the Knights of Malta

Feasting and fasting at the Time of the Knights

Grins and Groans at the Manoel Theatre

How a Stranger saw the Maltese Legal Profession in 1780

The Creni Saga - A Tale of Greed and Lust

A Mysterious Book by Mikiel Anton Vassalli?

How Lady Hamilton Changed the History of Malta

Archbishop Francesco Saverio Caruana - A Suspect Debunking

Some Early Malta-USA Connections

The ‘Tempestuous Prince’ in Malta, 1835

The Judicial Murder of Paulu Xuereb, 1844

A Franco-Maltese Battle in Grand Harbour

Early Photographers in Malta

The Magistrate Imprisoned for Indecent Assault

The PN Maduma - A Gift of Love and Shame

Italian Fascism and the Mail in Malta

The Planned Invasion of Malta - Postal History

Malta and Cagliostro, the Charismatic Charlatan

A Tribute to Our Cathedral City

For a History of Lawyering in Malta

Grand Master Del Ponte Resurrected

A History of Malta written in Gold, Silver and Bronze

Italo-Maltese Deeds and Misdeeds

How Malta Almost Defeated Sterling

Index