A City of Poets and Dreamers, Liars and Cheats...

Tommaso Cellini, celebrated ruler of Cadenza, is dead, and the city mourns. For Carlo Mazzoni, an aspiring poet, it was the day of his arrival in the City of Words and the end of his dreams to walk side-by-side with the great man, two artists together.

For Vittoria - known to all but a handful as the famed ink maid Hypatia - the death of a ruler is less troubling than her sadness and inability to write. Without it, her admirers will leave her, and with it her livelihood.

With its ruler dead, the city plunges into turmoil amid rumours of war with its rival Venice. Surrounded by murder, intrigue, revenge and revolution, they must rely on new friends and sinister acquaintances to find their paths to freedom.

An extravagant, lyrical novel about a city of poets and librarians at the height of the Renaissance. A city that never was.

About the Author
Thomas Beckerlegge grew up in a market town in the northwest of England, dreaming of becoming a writer. He studied history at Jesus College, Oxford and won the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize for his first novel, Darkside, at the age of 25, writing as Tom Becker. Tom lives in London with his wife, baby son, and a horde of shadowy creatures that he keeps confined within the pages of his notebook.

Reviews

"A gorgeous, immersive triumph of Renaissance-flavored worldbuilding" -- Publishers Weekly, starred review

* Publishers Weekly *

"[A] delicate study of the demise of society" -- SciFiNow

* SciFiNow *

"Memorable" -- SFX Magazine

* SFX Magazine *

"The zest and wit that Beckerlegge infuses into his fantastical Decameron is marvelous" -- Locus

* Locus *

"This is a fabulous book" -- The Historical Novels Review, Editor's Choice

* The Historical Novels Review *



Book Information
ISBN 9781786185006
Author Tom Beckerlegge
Format Hardback
Imprint Rebellion Publishing Ltd.
Publisher Rebellion Publishing Ltd.