The House at Bishopsgate

Description

From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a haunting, magical story set in 17th century London, perfect for fans of Jessie Burton and Elif Shafak 1611. Celia Lamprey looks out across the rooftops of Aleppo for the last time. After ten years living in the Orient, she and her husband, Paul Pindar, are setting sail for England - taking with them the legendary diamond, the Sultan's Blue, despite the curse that surrounds it. They arrive to find a country much changed; Bishopsgate, once surrounded by fields, is now a muddy thoroughfare choked with carriages - from which carpenters, gardeners and footmen descend, summoned to restore Pindar's great house to its former splendour. But all is not as it seems. Celia is frail, and the marriage childless. Between the couple lies a great, unspoken darkness. Now, as they await the arrival of Celia's friend Annetta from Venice, another woman, the alluring widow Frances Sydenham, becomes increasingly indispensable to the running of the household - and the happiness of its inhabitants. But who is this strange woman, and what are her real motives? Vividly evoking Jacobean society, The House at Bishopsgate is a sumptuous, richly woven story of marital secrets and sexual jealousy, from a master of historical fiction.

Katie Hickman is the author of seven previous books, including two bestselling history titles: Courtesans and Daughters of Britannia. She has written two travel books, one of which, Travels with a Mexican Circus, was shortlisted for the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award. She was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young British Writer of the Year Award for her novel The Quetzal Summer, and her novels The Aviary Gate and The Pindar Diamond have been translated into nineteen languages. Katie Hickman lives in London. katiehickman.com / @PindarDiamond

Wonderfully sinister ... Hickman is a born storyteller. Hugely enjoyable * The Times * Katie Hickman has created a world filled with love, intrigue, ambition and mystery. The House at Bishopsgate is a completely absorbing and delightful novel -- Amanda Foreman Skill as a historian doesn't guarantee equal ability as a novelist, but Hickman's latest work of fiction balances knowledge, atmosphere and story beautifully * Mail on Sunday * Hugely enjoyable ... Deeply satisfying -- Joanne Harris Katie Hickman will take you to a magical land * Independent * Hickman is entranced by her subjects and vividly conveys their charm -- Selina Hastings * Daily Telegraph * A wonderful writer * Guardian * A vibrant storyteller' -- Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran Irresistible ... Elegant and addictively readable -- William Dalrymple