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A thrilling historical novel set in 17th Prague that combines an extraordinary love story with a quest for eternal life and the mysticism of the Jewish occult
It is 1601 in the old city of Prague and the Hapsburg emperor Rudolph II, in possession of every luxury known to man, is unhappy. All that will ease him is the secret of eternal life, and as he sends his courtiers to England to bring back the alchemists John Dee and Edward Kelley he unleashes a storm among his foes - and a sea of troubles for the inhabitants of the Jewish ghetto, where stories of the mysterious golem abound and young Rochel, an outsider among outsiders, is striving to find love beyond the marriage that's been arranged for her.
Rich with court intrigue and political tension, with brilliantly imagined characters, historical figures and an astonishing assortment of spies, lepers, monks and mountebanks, The Book of Splendour is a triumphant and unforgettable work of fiction. "There is no end to the superlatives to apply to this mesmerizing novel. It is a complete original, a gripping story of love, magic, and faith, told with both tenderness and whimsy. Frances Sherwood demonstrates not only a prodigious historical knowledge of everyday life in Prague in the year 1601 but also a frolicking imagination that shines through every gorgeous sentence. A truly remarkable achievement" - Scott Turow
"Stunning...Sherwood is the rare writer whose work goes far beyond what we think of as historical novels. Instead of history's retrospective certainty - this is how it was - she projects her readers, as if by time machine, back into a place where everything is still to be discovered" - New York Times
"You could say it takes some chutzpah to title a novel "The Book of Splendour," but not in this case. This is a book with splendour to spare" - Washington Post
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About Frances Sherwood Frances Sherwood is the author of two previous novels, Green and Vindication, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and a collection of stories, Everything You've Heard Is True. She has won two O. Henry Awards and was nominated for a Nebula Award, and her work is included in Best American Short Stories 2000. She lives in South Bend, Indiana, and is a professor of English at Indiana University.
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