Twenty-Four Days of Holy Fire

In the late summer of 1741, George Frideric Handel was a broken man. Deeply in debt, plagued by a stroke that had partially paralyzed his right hand, the once-celebrated composer had watched his London operas fail one after another. Friends worried he would die in debtor's prison. Then a libretto arrived from Charles Jennens — a collection of scripture passages tracing the story of the Messiah, from prophecy through crucifixion to ultimate triumph.…