THE SECRET LIFE OF HIDDEN PLACES

A hidden door inside Versailles. A labyrinth beneath a Mexican city. An underground manor in England. Who built them? And what were they hiding?

Out now

About The Secret Life of Hidden Places

 

This wondrous guide for the curious and the intrepid takes readers on a lushly photographed and lyrically written tour of eighteen of the world’s most captivating architectural mysteries. Delve into both the secretive places themselves and the eccentric minds that created them. Visit a chamber of skulls high in the Swiss Alps, a Japanese temple full of traps, a Parisian apartment locked and untouched since World War II, a Prohibition-era speakeasy in Washington, DC, and a spooky “initiation” well in Portugal built by a secret society. How far down can you climb before losing your nerve?

Praise for The secet life of hidden places

As featured in

  • Atlas Obscura

  • Bookbub’s “Most Fascinating Books of Winter 2024”

  • LivingNorth’s “Six Great New History Books For World Heritage Day”

  • A LoveReading Best Audiobook of the Month

  • Amazon.com’s “Wanderlust” Book Club Pick

The guam daily post

“For readers who like a little true mystery in their lives, The Secret Life of Hidden Places . . . will be a delightful way to indulge. Filled with pictures, drawings and stories that will thrill you, this book takes you on a tour of nefarious laboratories and workshops, curious miniature castles, weird houses, hidden rooms, secret societies and the people who created them all. If you're particularly brave, put these places on your to-visit list this summer and see what happens.”

Living north

“This fantastic guide for the curious and fanciful takes readers through some of the world’s most intriguing architectural mysteries. . . "

The Berkshire EAGLE’S

“Have you ever been curious about what lies behind a locked door? Wondered if secret passages are just tall tales? The Secret Life of Hidden Places . . . is filled with stories about actual concealed rooms, clandestine passageways and the people who built them. What’s great about this book is that it not only includes better-known marvels, such as the Winchester Mystery House and King Tut’s Tomb, but also lesser-known stories such as a wall of 22,000 skulls found in the cellar of a church in Leuk, Switzerland, or the Garden of Monsters in Viterbo, Italy.”