{"product_id":"scales-of-gold-book-four-of-the-house-of-niccolo-9780375704802","title":"Scales of Gold: Book Four of the House of Niccolo","description":"With the bravura storytelling and pungent authenticity of detail she brought to her acclaimed Lymond Chronicles, Dorothy Dunnett, grande dame of the historical novel, presents The House of Niccol  series. The time is the 15th century, when intrepid merchants became the new knighthood of Europe. Among them, none is bolder or more cunning than Nicholas vander Poele of Bruges, the good-natured dyer's apprentice who schemes and swashbuckles his way to the helm of a mercantile empire. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe year 1464 finds Nicholas back in Venice. Plagued by enemies bent on dissolving his assets and smearing his character, he sets sail for Africa, legendary location of the Fountain of Youth, home to a descendant of Sheba and Solomon, and the source of gold in such abundance that men prefer to barter in shells. He will learn firsthand the brutality and grandeur of the Dark Continent, from the horror of the slave trade to the austere nobility of Islamic Timbuktu. He will discover, too, the charms of the beautiful Gelis van Borselen--a woman whose passion for Nicholas is rivaled only by her desire to punish him for his role in her sister s death. Erotic and lush with detail, Scales of Gold embraces the complexity of the Renaissance, where mercantile adventure couples with more personal quests behind the silken curtains of the Age of Discovery.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Vintage\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/01\/1999\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780375704802\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 544\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.97lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.98h x 5.22w x 0.95d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eIngram Advance\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/1999 pg. 83\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/24\/2000 pg. 11\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Dorothy Dunnett","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204926275765,"sku":"9780375704802","price":18.7,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_0f74a7f9-c474-4a1f-b77d-03671ae22039.jpg?v=1698126771","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/scales-of-gold-book-four-of-the-house-of-niccolo-9780375704802","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}