Overview

A baby abandoned in the palace gardens leads scribe sleuth Christine de Pizan into a mystery involving murder, superstition and scandal in fourteenth-century France. Paris, 1396. Scribe Christine de Pizan is shocked when the Duke of Orléans' fools find a baby, wrapped in rags and covered in sores, abandoned in the palace gardens. Was there really a wicked plan to substitute the child for the queen's own baby daughter and blame the Duchess of Orléans, Valentina Visconti? Who would commit such an evil act, and why? Accused of being a sorceress, Valentina is the victim of much slander and has powerful enemies at the palace, where rumours of witchcraft and superstition run riot. Convinced of the duchess's innocence, Christine is determined to uncover the truth, and soon makes a number of disturbing discoveries. Could the palace fools be the key to unlocking the mystery?

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9781780296784

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Reviews

Readers will enjoy the nicely constructed mystery as well as the well-researched trip to fourteenth-century France, highlighted by an interesting backstory concerning the contents of the royal library * <b>Booklist</b> * Immersive . Fans of well-researched historical mysteries will be rewarded * <b>Publishers Weekly</b> * Bayard vividly immerses the reader in the complex and perilous world of medieval France * <b>Kirkus Reviews</b> * The liberal sprinkling of quotations, many from the real de Pizan's own works, lend this intriguing tale an air of historical authenticity * <b>Booklist</b> on <b>In the Shadow of the Enemy</b> * Well-researched . History fans will enjoy this one * <b>Publishers Weekly</b> on <b>In the Shadow of the Enemy</b> * Historical details drive this period puzzle, whose heroine provides a steady presence against a backdrop of characters constantly fighting against their time and stations * <b>Kirkus Reviews</b> on <b>In the Shadow of the Enemy</b> * Bayard excels at describing people and places and puts her knowledge of the period to good use in crafting an engrossing whodunit * <b>Publishers Weekly</b> on <b>In the Presence of Evil</b> * This richly detailed and atmospheric historical mystery will draw readers into a fascinating medieval world that devotees of Ellis Peters and Ariana Franklin will savor * <b>Library Journal</b> on <b>In the Presence of Evil</b> * An intriguing premise and a dexterously executed story * <b>Booklist</b> on <b>In the Presence of Evil</b> *

Author Information

Tania Bayard is a freelance writer and lecturer specializing in medieval art, culture, and horticulture. She has taught art history at Fordham, Rutgers, and Hofstra universities and is the author of a number of non-fiction books, including A Medieval Home Companion: Housekeeping in the Fourteenth Century. Previously, she was the curator of the Biblical Garden at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City and assistant horticulturist at The Cloisters, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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