House of Niccolo – serie

The exquisitely-researched standalone prequel series to Dorothy Dunnett's revered Lymond Chronicles, following the ancestors of Francis Crawford of Lymond in Continental Europe.Scales of Gold is Book Four in The House of Niccolo series.-----------------------------'You know what is drawing him? He is going to the market no white men attend. He is going to sail up the River of Gold.'In the Spring of 1464 Nicholas vander Poele returns to Venice in time to witness a plot to wipe out Casa de Niccolo - his own bank. Near-ruined, he secures a ship, a crew and sails for the one place he is confident none of his rivals would dare follow - Africa.Yet Nicholas is disconcerted to find he is racing against another vessel as they head for the fabled lands of Prester John and his fountains of gold, where strangers and plunderers alike are treated with suspicion.But nothing will turn Nicholas away from the glittering prize he seeks - Timbuktu, the legendary city by the desert edge . . .'A glorious panorama of medieval times. The historical research is impeccable' Sunday Express

The exquisitely-researched standalone prequel series to Dorothy Dunnett's revered Lymond Chronicles, following the ancestors of Francis Crawford of Lymond in Continental Europe.The Unicorn Hunt is Book Five in The House of Niccolo series.-----------------------------'Rich, newly wed, with a palatial banking house, a busy fleet, a small army, why should Nicholas vander Poele choose to travel to Edinburgh?'That is the question on everyone's lips in the Autumn of 1468 - especially those of his enemy, Simon de St Pol of Kilmirren, who seeks nothing less than the destruction of the House of Niccolo and its cunning head.But Nicholas soon proves that there are very good mercantile reasons for expanding his trading empire into the north. They also help to conceal his attempts to discover the true father of the child his vengeful wife insists is not his own.From Scotland to the Tyrol, Cairo to Cyprus, Nicholas pursues a truth that many fear will destroy him and everything he has tried to build . . .'Terrifically exciting. Some wonderful set-pieces and a cliff-hanging climax' The Times

The exquisitely-researched standalone prequel series to Dorothy Dunnett's revered Lymond Chronicles, following the ancestors of Francis Crawford of Lymond in Continental Europe.To Lie With Lions is Book Six in The House of Niccolo series.-----------------------------'We are going to the Westmann Isles. We are going to tamper with Nature, defy law and cheat pirates. We are going to sail the stiffening ocean to Iceland.'It is 1471 and Nicholas de Fleury has confounded the Lions of Europe - the courts of England, France, Burgundy, Venice and Cyprus. The very future of the continent hinges on the fate of his bank, the enigmatic House of Niccolo.Yet Nicholas' attention appears to lie elsewhere. Having overcome the schemings of his wife, Gelis, he now seeks a truce. He looks north to the lands of ice and fire, and new treasure to wrestle from the hands of rivals.And, in Edinburgh, there is a play to perform - one that might have repercussions for those puzzled but powerful Lions . . .'Imaginative, scholarly and compelling' Mail on Sunday

The exquisitely-researched standalone prequel series to Dorothy Dunnett's revered Lymond Chronicles, following the ancestors of Francis Crawford of Lymond in Continental Europe.Spring of the Ram is Book Two in The House of Niccolo series.----------------------------- 'Catherine de Charetty, having chosen a lover just after the Feast of Exaltation of the Holy Cross, was much put out to learn that, at nearly thirteen, she did not possess all the required qualifications . . .'Yet her secret suitor, Pagano Doria, claims he will wait and spirits her away from Bruges, first to Florence and then eastwards. On their trail is Nicholas vander Poele, her step-father, conducting his own journey to the fabled city of Trebizond, a Byzantine outpost on the Black Sea.Known as the treasure-house of the East, Trebizond in 1461 is the ideal location for Nicholas to open the House of Niccolo's new trading post. However, the city's riches are threated by a Turkish army while rival merchant families seek to thwart Nicholas' ambitions.Not least among them is Doria himself, harbouring a plan involving young Catherine to rain ruin on the head of House Niccolo. . .'A sorceress of the genre' Daily Mail

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.----------------------------- '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 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.-----------------------------'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

The exquisitely-researched standalone prequel series to Dorothy Dunnett's revered Lymond Chronicles, following the ancestors of Francis Crawford of Lymond in Continental Europe.Caprice and Rondo is Book Seven in The House of Niccolo series.-----------------------------'A companionable fellow who now spends his time raising hell . . .'Winter, 1473, and Nicholas de Fleury's schemes have at last caught up with him, costing everything - friends, family and firm. Losing himself in the icy port of Danzig, he drinks and fights, but most of all he forgets.Meanwhile, his wife Gelis, bruised from their years of dueling, sets off to find out the truth of her husband's lost parentage - and discovers a traitor within Nicholas's close circle of friends.As Nicholas is drawn eastwards in a search for the lost gold to restore his fortunes, so the titanic forces he has long-attempted to marshal for his own ends reach out to exact a terrible price of their own . . .'The best historical novelist since Sir Walter Scott' Sunday Times

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.-----------------------------'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

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.----------------------------- '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 exquisitely-researched standalone prequel series to Dorothy Dunnett's revered Lymond Chronicles, following the ancestors of Francis Crawford of Lymond in Continental Europe.Scales of Gold is Book Four in The House of Niccolo series.-----------------------------'You know what is drawing him? He is going to the market no white men attend. He is going to sail up the River of Gold.'In the Spring of 1464 Nicholas vander Poele returns to Venice in time to witness a plot to wipe out Casa de Niccolo - his own bank. Near-ruined, he secures a ship, a crew and sails for the one place he is confident none of his rivals would dare follow - Africa.Yet Nicholas is disconcerted to find he is racing against another vessel as they head for the fabled lands of Prester John and his fountains of gold, where strangers and plunderers alike are treated with suspicion.But nothing will turn Nicholas away from the glittering prize he seeks - Timbuktu, the legendary city by the desert edge . . .'A glorious panorama of medieval times. The historical research is impeccable' Sunday Express

The exquisitely-researched standalone prequel series to Dorothy Dunnett's revered Lymond Chronicles, following the ancestors of Francis Crawford of Lymond in Continental Europe.Race of Scorpions is Book Three in The House of Niccolo series.----------------------------- 'Who's the lady in trouble, Master Nicholas?''She's not a lady. She's a Queen called Carlotta.'It is 1462 and Carlotta, the young Queen of Jerusalem, Cyprus and Armenia, is besieged by brigands at a farm on the winter road to Bologna when Nicholas vander Poele rides to her rescue - and into deeper trouble.Now the head of his own private army, Nicholas finds himself a sought-after man by both Carlotta and her half-brother, James. Each lays claim to the throne of Cyprus and each seeks to persuade Nicholas - in more ways than one - to lend his cunning and might to their cause.As Christians and Muslims, merchants and Mamelukes, the Pope, the Sultan and the Knights of St John wrangle over Cyprus's future, it falls to Nicholas to juggle adversaries and allies to free himself from this conspiracy of scorpions . . .'The excitement of Dunnett's storytelling runs hand-in-hand with the erudition of her research' The Times

The exquisitely-researched standalone prequel series to Dorothy Dunnett's revered Lymond Chronicles, following the ancestors of Francis Crawford of Lymond in Continental Europe.Spring of the Ram is Book Two in The House of Niccolo series.----------------------------- 'Catherine de Charetty, having chosen a lover just after the Feast of Exaltation of the Holy Cross, was much put out to learn that, at nearly thirteen, she did not possess all the required qualifications . . .'Yet her secret suitor, Pagano Doria, claims he will wait and spirits her away from Bruges, first to Florence and then eastwards. On their trail is Nicholas vander Poele, her step-father, conducting his own journey to the fabled city of Trebizond, a Byzantine outpost on the Black Sea.Known as the treasure-house of the East, Trebizond in 1461 is the ideal location for Nicholas to open the House of Niccolo's new trading post. However, the city's riches are threated by a Turkish army while rival merchant families seek to thwart Nicholas' ambitions.Not least among them is Doria himself, harbouring a plan involving young Catherine to rain ruin on the head of House Niccolo. . .'A sorceress of the genre' Daily Mail

The exquisitely-researched standalone prequel series to Dorothy Dunnett's revered Lymond Chronicles, following the ancestors of Francis Crawford of Lymond in Continental Europe.The Unicorn Hunt is Book Five in The House of Niccolo series.-----------------------------'Rich, newly wed, with a palatial banking house, a busy fleet, a small army, why should Nicholas vander Poele choose to travel to Edinburgh?'That is the question on everyone's lips in the Autumn of 1468 - especially those of his enemy, Simon de St Pol of Kilmirren, who seeks nothing less than the destruction of the House of Niccolo and its cunning head.But Nicholas soon proves that there are very good mercantile reasons for expanding his trading empire into the north. They also help to conceal his attempts to discover the true father of the child his vengeful wife insists is not his own.From Scotland to the Tyrol, Cairo to Cyprus, Nicholas pursues a truth that many fear will destroy him and everything he has tried to build . . .'Terrifically exciting. Some wonderful set-pieces and a cliff-hanging climax' The Times