Description
The exquisitely-researched standalone prequel series to Dorothy Dunnett's revered Lymond Chronicles, following the ancestors of Francis Crawford of Lymond in Continental Europe.
Gemini is Book Eight in The House of Niccolo series.
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'Landing in Berwick that wild, February day, Nicholas de Fleury had known that he was mad to come back to Scotland, but that it had to be done.'
The winter of 1477 is coming to a close as Nicholas, his fortunes restored, returns to the country he nearly ruined to make amends and to settle old scores - and is immediately set upon by assassins.
Yet it is not long before he is established at the court of King James III, using his wits and wiles to help steer the kingdom through the storms of trade and war ravaging the continent.
With his wife Gelis once more by his side, Nicholas knows a reckoning must be made with his estranged family as the final loose strands of his story entwine together in the concluding volume of the House of Niccolo.
'An extraordinary achievement' Daily Telegraph
About the Author
Frequently described as the finest historical fiction writer of her time, Dorothy Dunnett earned worldwide acclaim for her blend of scholarship and imagination. She is best known for her two superb series of historical fiction - The Lymond Chronicles and The House of Niccolo - set in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and ranging across Europe and the Mediterranean, and for King Hereafter, the eleventh-century story of Earl Thorfinn of Orkney whom Dorothy believed was also King Macbeth. In 1992, Dorothy Dunnett was awarded the OBE for her services to literature, and in 2014 Dunnett's most enduring hero, Francis Crawford of Lymond, was voted Scotland's favourite literary character - beating the likes of Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter and Ivanhoe. Dunnett died 9 November 2001, having sold half a million copies internationally.
Reviews
Praise for Dorothy Dunnett
-- - * - *A storyteller who could teach Scheherazade a thing or two about pace, suspense and imaginative invention -- - * The New York Times *
Marvellous, breathtaking -- - * The Times *
A masterpiece of historical fiction -- - * Washington Post *
One of the greatest tale-spinners since Dumas -- - * Cleveland Plain Dealer *
Lashings of excitement, colour and subtlety -- - * The Times *
Vivid, engaging, densely plotted - are almost certainly destined to be counted among the classics of popular fiction -- - * New York Times *
Dunnett's legion of devoted readers will need no recommendation to buy Gemini. They would, I imagine, walk barefoot to the bookshop over broken glass to get it ... Anyone reading this novel, even as an introduction to Dunnett's work will, I suspect, join that band of admirers -- - * Sunday Times *
Book Information
ISBN 9780140252316
Author Dorothy Dunnett
Format Paperback
Page Count 768
Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 500g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 35mm