Ascension

IN THE winter of 1461, England is riven by a seemingly endless civil war. The Lancastrian King, the unstable Henry VI, is a prisoner.

His wife, the vengeful Margaret of Anjou, is riding south with an army of Scots and northerners to reinstate him, having first ensured that the head of the Duke of York is impaled on York’s battlements. Outraged, the Duke’s eldest son, Edward of York, now proclaims himself King, thus escalating the conflict.

Complicated, treacherous – The Wars of the Roses is strong meat – and Iggulden’s take on this gore-splattered epoch rings absolutely true. – Daily Mail

By 1749 Venice is past her imperial heyday, but still ruled by a meticulous and far-reaching state apparatus, and her pleasures, illicit or otherwise, are a magnet for all Europe.

The Venetian-born, Londonraised, sharp-witted and resourceful Alvise Marangon offers his services as a tour guide of the Grand Canal to a youthful Englishman bent on vice.

He soon finds himself entangled with a series of murders of male prostitutes, not to mention running up against the Venetian secret service.

The book is steeped in Venetian history. But don’t be put off: Alvise is a terrific character, the murder mystery is ingenious and, if you are a sucker for Venice, the sights, sounds and smells of its streets and canals ooze up from the page. – Daily Mail