To Lie with Lions: The House of Niccolo 6

The exquisitely-researched standalone prequel series to Dorothy Dunnett''s revered Lymond Chronicles, following the ancestors of Francis Crawford of Lymond in Continental Europe.

To Lie With Lions is Book Six in The House of Niccolo series.

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''We are going to the Westmann Isles. We are going to tamper with Nature, defy law and cheat pirates. We are going to sail the stiffening ocean to Iceland.''

It is 1471 and Nicholas de Fleury has confounded the Lions of Europe - the courts of England, France, Burgundy, Venice and Cyprus. The very future of the continent hinges on the fate of his bank, the enigmatic House of Niccolo.

Yet Nicholas'' attention appears to lie elsewhere. Having overcome the schemings of his wife, Gelis, he now seeks a truce. He looks north to the lands of ice and fire, and new treasure to wrestle from the hands of rivals.

And, in Edinburgh, there is a play to perform - one that might have repercussions for those puzzled but powerful Lions . . .

''Imaginative, scholarly and compelling'' Mail on Sunday