Let me start off with a quote from the address given by Joe Grioli, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti. His address was the first to be given on the occasion of the launch, at the Casino Maltese, a couple of weeks ago, of Justice Giovanni Bonello's book Falling in Eden: An anthology of Stories on Crime in Malta. It is published by Patrimonju as the start of a new series following the popular Histories of Malta, the last volume of which was published in 2013.

Mr Grioli said: "With 12 volumes already under his belt one would think the concept was exhausted. But no! As per usual, defying all that is the norm, when we suggested to Vanni that we were thinking of revisiting the series but under a different guise, he spontaneously replied: "I already have 4 volumes ready'!"

We are as surprised by this statement as Mr Grioli. Does Dr Bonello ever stop to eat and rest, pop in to Cordina's for a coffee, go and take a look at the view from Upper Barracca, I ask myself?

Giulia Privitelli, Senior Editor, gave the second address to a sala full of dignitaries, staff of Patrimonju, family, friends and admirers of the judge.  In a charming speech written from first hand experience, she explained how she sifted through some 200 articles.  Anyway, with Gordon (from Kite Group) it was agreed that we will start with 6 volumes, so, obviously, a selection had to be made." Giulia faced so many questions. "After hours simply staring at the titles and several more hours actually reading the articles, I slowly started to detect more patterns, indeed, suggestions for a more thematic grouping: crime, women, literature, pictorials, art and film, prominent personalities (and more, of course, including a whole bunch of miscellanea - the problematic ones!)."

Those who are followers, admirers of Dr Bonello, lovers of history, of Melitensia or book lovers know that he is a polymath. There seems to be little he isn't interested in. He has been sharing his vast collection of postcards and photographs in a regular series of articles in The Times or The Sunday Times. In her address Giulia told us: "So, I arrived at a point in which these things stood out as particularly important: origins, human condition, history, and narrative. Reflecting on what kind of title/titles could best represent this, my mind almost immediately flitted to the perhaps overused and overtold story of the biblical Genesis. I'm afraid that from all the incredible origin stories, this is the one I know best. But it is nonetheless a story that has so much to say about the human condition. And what's more, I kept finding references to this - and certainly to religion and religious tradition - throughout several of the essays, and not just the ones selected for this volume that primarily deals with crime stories. The association is obvious now, I hope. And seeing the title of this volume, you probably can suspect what comes next, which we hope to release later this year."

So let us look forward to another book launch:  More Histories: Volume 2.

The main address was by Dr Philip  Farrugia Randon, himself a keen historian. His wife Helen told me he has a library of two thousand books in their home but nothing and no one will discourage him from buying more.

Dr Farrugia Randon's address which, as someone commented, was delivered in a masterly manner, was entitled The return of Bonello's 'Histories of Malta.' It was printed in The Malta Independent on Sunday,  last Sunday. You will also find it on the website of The Kite Group, the publishers adopted by Patrimonju.

Dr Farrugia Randon gave the audience an indepth analysis of the book. Serious, sad, cruel, unbelievable. These centuries were a time when human rights were only enjoyed by a privileged few. Justice was arbitrary. "His writings contain a gold mine of information that sheds direct light on everyday life in Malta. The protagonists are knights, bishops, inquisitors, or ordinary lay people. This author's extraordinary detective work on lawyers and lawyering in Malta before 1600 is commendable 'cum laude'.

This was virgin land before Bonello insightfully spoiled that virginity. He searched high and low in publications by Fiorini and Wettinger and documents from the Universitas of Malta.

Interesting is the use of the letters UJD or IUD  following the names of some lawyers. These letters stand for 'Utriusque Juris Doctor', a doctorate in both Canon law and Civil Law. That is why today we still say doctor of laws, not doctor of law. I could

not resist a chuckle when Vanni commented that he discards the IUD version "because they now

refer to a contraceptive."" Certainly an analysis worth reading.

Both author and reviewer are not short of wit or humour which make their writings even more of a pleasure to read.

When approached to say a few words Judge Bonello hesitated and when gently encouraged, off the cuff, he recalled the advice he was given in his early days as a lawyer, by a guru of the legal profession, when asked whether he should accept to make a speech: "Ibni, lawyers only open their mouth when they're paid to do so." But, that evening, he had so many wonderful people to thank, he felt compelled to break the rule.

The book, which lies in front of me is in itself a work of art. Everyone who contributed to it has to be congratulated. Elegant, beautiful paper, a typeface  which is a good size and well spaced and which one can easily read.

I found the illustrations particularly interesting. Most are new to me. I started and finished reading The Tragic Prince of Abyssinia in Malta. I read it first because we had lived in Abyssinia for a short while and inspite of many deprivations, and the 6000 policeman in Addis Ababa alone, I loved it as it was full of character and interest. When I had finished reading about the tragic Prince I shed a few tears and asked that question which I hope will be answered one day: Where is God in this?  How unfortunate can an innocent little boy be.

Creative director is Michael Lowell who is also Chief Executive Officer of Patrimonju and design and layout Lisa Attard who is also the photographer.

This new series is being generously supported by the Francis Miller Memorial Fund.

I plan to take some time off from concert going and socialising generally. I prefer hibernating in the  hot summer months. So, Falling in Eden, here I come.

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