Nicholas de Fleury, cosmopolitan merchant banker of late-15th century Venice, burgher of Bruges, master manipulator who craves absolute personal power, stands at the dawn of the modern age, shedding light on our own. In this sixth engrossing installment of her House of Niccolo saga (following The Unicorn Hunt), Scottish novelist Dunnett focuses on her scheming, autocratic, charming hero's startlingly modern open marriage to quick-witted, self-sufficient Gelis van Borselen.
'Dunnett's legion of devoted readers will need no recommendation to buy GEMINI. They would, I imagine, walk barefoot to the bookshop over broken glass to get it...Anyone reading this novel, even as an introduction to Dunnett's work will, I suspect, join that band of admirers' Sunday Times GEMINI represents the final appearance of Nicholas de Fleury, who opened this series as a carefree, clumsy 18 year old apprentice in Flanders. Now he is in his thirties. The culmination of this amazing series sees Niccolo face his toughest battle yet, against an enemy who will tax every skill he has acquired over the course of the last few years...
From the glassworks of Murano to the commercial hub of Timbuktu--and through fearsome peril on land and sea--entrepreneurship, religion, gold fever, friendship and revenge fuel this rich historical romance from a masterful raconteur. In 1464, adventurer and merchant banker Nicholas van der Pole (hero of three previous Dunnett novels) returns to Venice to find his financial empire in jeopardy due to the Crusades and the onslaught of powerful, unscrupulous competitors.
