Scales of Gold - first UK edition

by Dorothy Dunnett - signed

Fourth novel in the eight novel Niccolo series. 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, 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; 519 pages. Maps on front and rear end papers. 

Orange cloth with gilt lettering. Small bump on front board, otherwise Fine, in Fine dust jacket with very minimal wear on the top edge.