Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti has just published the twelfth book of the popular series Histories of Malta by Giovanni Bonello.  This volume, Confusions and Conclusions closes off one of the most successful collections of researched studies in aspects of ancient and modern Malta.

Like all previous volumes in this series, Vol. 12 contains a fascinating array of chapters on the most varied historical themes, from pirates in Malta in the British period, to the systematic looting of the Palace; from an Italian Knight of Malta who plotted an assassination and was tortured for treason, to a Maltese scandal that saw Cardinal Newman dragged in court by a defrocked Italian priest; and from an obsessive Maltese art collector who lost his fortune to gambling, to the first study of early cinemas in Malta.

This volume is a worthy conclusion of a series which proved that well-researched history can be as fresh and captivating as any novel.

CONTENTS

Paolo del Rosso, Knight, Assassin, Poet (p.9)
An unknown portrait of Fra Carlos Grunenbergh by Mattia Preti (p.27)
Santa Liberata and the bearded female crucifix (p.39)
A Malta-USA deal in 1794 (p.55)
Pirates in the early British era - the Malta connections (p.69)
The hidden history of the looting of the Palace (p.99)
Malta in the Newman and Achilli drama (p.139)
A Maltese murder and the British occupation of Egypt (p.159)
Pietru Pawl Castagna and his quaint Maltese book (p.173)
Luigi Borg de Balzan - a search for his enigmas (p.185)
Cinemas in Malta before World War One (p.203)
Peter Rothwell - unsung hero of World War Two (p.215)
On the retirement of Giovanni Bonello (p.223)
A vitriolic onslaught on the Order of Malta (p.228)
The Maltese Franciscans (Ta' Ġieżu) from 1482 to 1965 (p.231)
A great book about a little church (p.234)
Provenance (p.237)