Scales of Gold

House of Niccolò Series, Book 4

By: Dorothy Dunnett

Narrated by: John Banks

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 fifteenth 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.

©1991 Dorothy Dunnett (P)2023 Tantor

Heart Strain

I love Dorothy Dunnett. I have read and reread the Lymond Chronicles and House of Niccolo many times. It was a new experience to listen. They did a great job. This is for me the most difficult book in the House of Niccolo series.

Fantastic performance and book

A thrilling story from beginning to end, and so well narrated. Complex, exciting and a brilliant examination of human nature.