The Pindar Diamond

The Pindar Diamond

Venice, 1604.

When rumours of a spectacularly rare and priceless diamond begin to circulate amongst the gamblers and courtesans of the Venetian demi-monde, the Levant Company merchant, Paul Pindar, becomes convinced that the jewel is somehow linked to the fate of his former love, Celia Lamprey. As his obsession with the mysterious stone grows it becomes clear that there are other, more sinister forces at play. Is the diamond real, or is it just a trick to lure him to his ruin?

The Pindar Diamond moves from the canals of Venice to the coasts of Dalmatia, from a famed physic garden in the Venetian lagoon to the secret corridors of a convent - a tale of lust, love, greed, wealth and danger set among the Levant traders in the early years of the seventeenth century. Written in the exquisitely evocative style that is Katie Hickman's trademark, this is a gripping and superbly told story that goes as deeply into history as into the human heart.

Katie Hickman is the author of six previous books, including two bestselling history books, Courtesans and Daughters of Britannia. She has written two travel books: Travels with a Circus, about her experiences travelling with a Mexican circus, which was shortlisted for the 1993 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award, and Dreams of the Peaceful Dragon, about a journey on horseback through the forbidden Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. She was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young British Writer of the Year award for her novel The Quetzal Summer. Katie Hickman lives in London with her two children and her husband, the philosopher A.C. Grayling.

The Pindar Diamond
Allen and Unwin
Author: Katie Hickman
ISBN: 9780747599951
Price: $32.99