This third volume in The Lymond Chronicles, the highly renowned series of historical novels takes place in 1551, when Francis Crawford of Lymond is dispatched to embattled Malta, to assist the Knights of Hospitallers in defending the island against the Turks. But shortly the swordsman and scholar discovers that the greatest threat to the Knights lies within their own ranks, where various factions vie secretly for master.
“Dunnett is a master of suspense and misdirection.”
—The New York Times
“[Lymond] is arguably the perfect romantic hero.”
—The Guardian
“Dorothy Dunnett is one of the greatest talespinners since Dumas. . . . Breathlessly exciting.”
—Cleveland Plain Dealer
“A masterpiece of historical fiction.”
—The Washington Post
“Expert entertainment. . . . Dunnett can describe a duel more convincingly than Dumas.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“Exciting, dangerous, fascinating.”
—The Boston Globe
“Dunnett is a name to conjure with. Her work exemplifies the best the genre can offer.”
—Christian Science Monitor
“Ingenious and exceptional . . . its effect brilliant, its pace swift and colorful and its multi-linear plot spirited and absorbing.”
—Boston Herald
“Dunnett evokes the sixteenth century with an amazing richness of allusion and scholarship, while keeping a firm control on an intricately twisting narrative. She has another more unusual quality . . . an ability to check her imagination with irony, to mix high romance with wit.”
—Sunday Times (London)
“A very stylish blend of high romance and high camp. Her hero, the enigmatic Lymond, [is] Byron crossed with Lawrence of Arabia. . . . He moves in an aura of intrigue, hidden menace and sheer physical daring.”
“With shrewd psychological insight and a rare gift of narrative and descriptive power, Dorothy Dunnett reveals the color, wit, lushness . . . and turbulent intensity of one of Europe’s greatest eras.”
—Raleigh News and Observer
—The New York Times
“[Lymond] is arguably the perfect romantic hero.”
—The Guardian
“Dorothy Dunnett is one of the greatest talespinners since Dumas. . . . Breathlessly exciting.”
—Cleveland Plain Dealer
“A masterpiece of historical fiction.”
—The Washington Post
“Expert entertainment. . . . Dunnett can describe a duel more convincingly than Dumas.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“Exciting, dangerous, fascinating.”
—The Boston Globe
“Dunnett is a name to conjure with. Her work exemplifies the best the genre can offer.”
—Christian Science Monitor
“Ingenious and exceptional . . . its effect brilliant, its pace swift and colorful and its multi-linear plot spirited and absorbing.”
—Boston Herald
“Dunnett evokes the sixteenth century with an amazing richness of allusion and scholarship, while keeping a firm control on an intricately twisting narrative. She has another more unusual quality . . . an ability to check her imagination with irony, to mix high romance with wit.”
—Sunday Times (London)
“A very stylish blend of high romance and high camp. Her hero, the enigmatic Lymond, [is] Byron crossed with Lawrence of Arabia. . . . He moves in an aura of intrigue, hidden menace and sheer physical daring.”
“With shrewd psychological insight and a rare gift of narrative and descriptive power, Dorothy Dunnett reveals the color, wit, lushness . . . and turbulent intensity of one of Europe’s greatest eras.”
—Raleigh News and Observer
