Pawn in Frankincense

Book Four in the Legendary Lymond Chronicles

By: Dorothy Dunnett

Narrated by: David Monteath

In this fourth book in the legendary Lymond Chronicles, Francis Crawford of Lymond desperately searches the Ottoman empire for his kidnapped child.

Somewhere within the bejeweled labyrinth of the Ottoman empire, a child is hidden. Now his father, Francis Crawford of Lymond, soldier of fortune and the exiled heir of Scottish nobility, is searching for him while ostensibly engaged on a mission to the Turkish Sultan. At stake is the political order of three continents, for Lymond's child is a pawn in a cutthroat game whose gambits include treason, enslavement, and murder. In that game's final move, which is played inside the harem of the Topkapi palace, Lymond will come face to face with his most implacable enemy and the dreadful ambiguities of his own nature.

With a Foreword by the author.

Critic reviews

“Exciting, dangerous, fascinating.”
—The Boston Globe

“[Dunnett’s] hero. . .is as polished and perceptive as Lord Peter Wimsey and as resourceful as James Bond.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“Vivid, engaging, densely plotted. . . . Dunnett is a master of suspense and misdirection.”
—The New York Times

“A masterpiece of historical fiction.”
—The Washington Post

“[Lymond] is arguably the perfect romantic hero.”
—The Guardian

“Dorothy Dunnett is one of the greatest talespinners since Dumas . . . breathlessly exciting.”
—Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Dunnett is a name to conjure with. Her work exemplifies the best the genre can offer.”
—Christian Science Monitor

“Ingenious and exceptional . . . its effect brilliant, its pace swift and colorful and its multi-linear plot spirited and absorbing.”
—Boston Herald

“Dunnett evokes the sixteenth century with an amazing richness of allusion and scholarship, while keeping a firm control on an intricately twisting narrative. She has another more unusual quality . . . an ability to check her imagination with irony, to mix high romance with wit.”
—Sunday Times (London)

“A very stylish blend of high romance and high camp. Her hero, the enigmatic Lymond, [is] Byron crossed with Lawrence of Arabia. . . . He moves in an aura of intrigue, hidden menace and sheer physical daring.”
—Times Literary Supplement (London)

“With shrewd psychological insight and a rare gift of narrative and descriptive power, Dorothy Dunnett reveals the color, wit, lushness . . . and turbulent intensity of one of Europe’s greatest eras.”
—Raleigh News and Observer

What an emotional roller coaster!

This book, so far, is the best one in the series. I read the last four chapters in one breathe! As someone who came to the series because I was promised an epic love story, I'm finally starting to get my payoff. I'm here for the slowest of slow burn love stories! By now, I'm completely obsessed with Lymond, as flawed as he is. And Philippa is an icon, I have no choice but to stan. Thank God, there are two more books!

Best romantic counter-hero

The best book of the Dunnett series …Excellently voiced by Monteath. It doesn’t get any better than Dunnett’s Lymond.

Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles are unsurpassed

Dorothy Dunnett is the best historical writer of any generation. Though an amazing challenge, Monteith does a wonderful job giving these books a voice!

The best historical novelist meets the best voice

The Dunnett/Monteath (writer/narrator) killer duo continues in this jaw-droppingly great historical novel. Pawn in Frankincense (fourth in the Lymond Chronicles - it's best to read the books in order) will take you on a mind-boggling journey from the France of Henri II, along the Mediterranean to Turkey in the age of Suleiman the Magnificent. Then it'll rip your heart out and leave you glad that it did. This novel is a great one in any form, but listening to David Monteath's masterful narration brings new levels of understanding and suspense to the experience. Highest recommendation.

Have you noticed the chess-themed titles?

Every volume in Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles is suspenseful, action-packed, and gorgeously described. Pawn in Frankincense, directly following events in the previous novel (The Disorderly Knights) follows an intense pursuit throughout the Mediterranean to Istanbul, with a diverse and quarrelsome cast of characters. Our hero (or antihero?) is brought to a breaking point, and Dunnett develops two--or three--remarkable female characters who will continue to play significant roles.

I can't say much more without spoilers, but a certain event in this novel caused at least one reader to stop reading and give up on the series. There will be tears. Please don't give up.

David Monteath continues to perform outstanding narration with distinctive characterization and accents.