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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 Niccolò 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. The 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.… (more)
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Quite why, after this discovery, Gelis and Nicholas become close is not clear. At least, not until the end of the book. Nicholas and Godscalc set out for Ethiopia to find the land of Prester John, but have to turn back, both worn and wounded. Gelis returns to Europe with Godscalc, and Nicholas is again nursed, by Lppe/ Umar. He finds peace in Timbuktu, until the warring tribes threaten again, and he becomes pivotal in the defence of the city. Finally, he leaves for Europe via the camel trains across the Sahara.
Finally reunited, Nicholas proposes marriage to Gelis, she asks for time to think and goes to Scotland. After being away for eight weeks, she returns to Bruges amid wedding preparations for the Duke of Burgundy; and finally agrees to marry Nicholas. On her wedding night she reveals <spoiler>that she is pregnant by Simon, Nicholas's disputed father</spoiler>; which comes as a genuine shock and kick in the guts. Leaving me (the first time, and subsequent times) shaking my head and asking What? What just happened?
Underlying all the adventure and violence is Dunnett's sly humor. She gives this comedy to Scales of Gold in the form of witty repartee. When Nicholas asks Gregorio if anyone has tried to kill him lately, Gregorio replies, "I suffer from overwork and neglect but apart from that, no" (p 8).