Books
He published his first book, Britain's Greek Empire, in 1978, reviewing the history of Corfu and the Ionian islands from the 15th century, when the influence of Byzantium ended, through rule by Venice from 1401 and then as a British protectorate from the Napoleonic Wars until 1863, when the islands became part of the newly independent Greece. In a posthumous letter to The Times however, Pratt was accused of "flagrant plagiarism" in relation to this book. His second book, Great Country Houses of Central Europe, was published in 1990, with a revised edition in 2005. Finally, he published Nelson's Duchy in 2005, on Castello Nelson and the estate at Bronte in Sicily, granted to Lord Nelson by Ferdinand III of Sicily and IV of Naples.
He married Janet Giannuzzi Savelli in 1999. He suffered from poor health in later life, and underwent a triple heart by-pass operation in 2006.
He had a life interest in Bayham Manor through a family trust, but was often in dispute with his trustees. Near the end of his life, he was evicted by the trustees so they could sell the house and his prized 1986 Mercury Capri, but he was later let back in. He died at Bayham Manor in his sleep. He was survived by his wife. An inquest subsequently found that he had died after accidentally taking an overdose of painkillers.
Read more about this topic: Lord Michael Pratt
Famous quotes containing the word books:
“I am positive I have a soul; nor can all the books with which materialists have pester’d the world ever convince me of the contrary.”
—Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)
“Ideas are only lethal if you suppress and don’t discuss them. Ignorance is not bliss, it’s stupid. Banning books shows you don’t trust your kids to think and you don’t trust yourself to be able to talk to them.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)
“History has shown that the less people read, the more books they buy.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)