The House At Bishopsgate

Katie Hickman Bloomsbury €18.20

After ten years in the Orient, wealthy merchant Paul Pindar returns to Jacobean London and the extraordinary house he’s had built in his absence. With him is his sweet-natured wife Celia who, to the couple’s surprise, becomes something of an exotic sensation among the ladies of the English Court. Celia suspects this unlooked-for attention comes courtesy of her travelling companion, the Machiavellian Lady Sydenham. But to what purpose? Skill as a historian doesn’t guarantee equal ability as a novelist, but Hickman’s latest work of fiction balances knowledge, atmosphere and story beautifully.