The exquisitely-researched standalone prequel series to Dorothy Dunnett's revered Lymond Chronicles, following the ancestors of Francis Crawford of Lymond in Continental Europe.

Niccolo Rising is Book One in The House of Niccolo series.

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'It began with sea, and September sunlight, and three young men lying stripped to their doublets in the Duke of Burgundy's bath . . .'

Meet Caes - Nicholas vander Poele - an eighteen-year-old orphan and dyer apprentice's working for the widow Marian de Charetty in Bruges. After fetching up in jail for accidentally sinking a lighter and breaking the leg of a nobleman, his young life seems over before it is even begun.

However, fate and the fifteenth century have great expectations for Nicholas and he soon finds himself leading the Charetty company into adventures and intrigues both mercantile and military, even as enemies plot their downfall.

Through cunning, bravery, wit and an unexpected wisdom, Nicholas begins to lay the foundations for the House of Niccolo . . .

'As brilliant and interesting as Lymond. A generous feast' Daily Telegraph

'A series that will give us our fill of high Renaissance adventure and espionage' Guardian

The time is the 15th century, when intrepid merchants became the new knighthood of Europe.

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 -- - * 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 *



Book Information
ISBN 9780140113914
Author Dorothy Dunnett
Format Paperback
Page Count 592
Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 404g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 25mm