House Of Niccolo 04 Scales Of Gold - Softcover

Dunnett, Dorothy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140112669 ISBN 13: 9780140112665

Publisher: Penguin UK, 1993

Synopsis

'A glorious panorama of medieval times ... The historical research is impeccable' Sunday Express The year 1464 finds our hero Nicholas in Venice. Plagued by enemies bent on dissolving his assets and smearing his character, he sets sail for Africa, legendary location of the Fountain of Youth and the source of gold in such abundance that men prefer to barter in shells. He will discover the charms of the beautiful Gelis - a woman whose passion for Nicholas is rivalled only by her desire to punish him for his role in her sister's death. Erotic and lush with detail, SCALES OF GOLD embraces the complexity of the Renaissance, where mercantile adventure couples with more personal quests behind the silkeb curtains of the Age of Discovery.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

With the bravura storytelling and pungent authenticity of detail she brought to her acclaimed Lymond Chronicles, Dorothy Dunnett, grande dame of the historical novel, presents The House of Niccolo series. The time is the 15th century, when intrepid merchants became the new knighthood of Europe. Among them, none is bolder or more cunning than Nicholas vander Poele of Bruges, the good-natured dyer's apprentice who schemes and swashbuckles his way to the helm of a mercantile empire.
The year 1464 finds Nicholas back in Venice. Plagued by enemies bent on dissolving his assets and smearing his character, he sets sail for Africa, legendary location of the Fountain of Youth, home to a descendant of Sheba and Solomon, and the source of gold in such abundance that men prefer to barter in shells. He will learn firsthand the brutality and grandeur of the Dark Continent, from the horror of the slave trade to the austere nobility of Islamic Timbuktu. He will discover, too, the charms of the beautiful Gelis van Borselen--a woman whose passion for Nicholas is rivaled only by her desire to punish him for his role in her sister s death. Erotic and lush with detail, Scales of Gold embraces the complexity of the Renaissance, where mercantile adventure couples with more personal quests behind the silken curtains of the Age of Discovery.

From the Back Cover

"Dunnett's pace is robust, her grasp of the Renaissance mind subtle and convincing." --Kirkus Reviews

"As a writer of historical romances, Dorothy Dunnett . . . epitomizes [the genre]. . . She salts it with wit and intelligence and serves it with style and elegance." -- San Francisco Chronicle

"The finest living writer of historical fiction"--The Washington Post Book World

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin UK
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0140112669
• ISBN 13: 9780140112665
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 800