Thursday, March 29, 2012

New printing of The Alchemist's Daughter

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My 2004  historical fantasy The Alchemist's Daughter, set in Elizabethan England, has been sold out for some time. I'm pleased to see that it's once again available, in a recently released fifth printing. You can  find it online at ChaptersIndigo and Amazon.com

The year is 1587. Queen Elizabeth is on the throne of England, and the country is on the brink of war with Spain. In a world of Renaissance magic, dire portents and dangerous secrets, eighteen year old Sidonie Quince has inherited the ability to foresee the future. Sidonie, whose true interest is in the rational world of mathematics, is frightened by her powers of vision, knowing that they brought about her mother's death.

Sidonie is summoned to Hampton Court Palace as a temporary replacement for the Queen's astrologer, Dr. John Dee, while he travels abroad. However, Queen Elizabeth knows all too well what the future may hold, if she cannot obtain gold to build more ships and supply her navy. The real purpose of the visit, in this age of subterfuge and hidden agendas, is to hire Sidonie's father, the alchemist Simon Quince, to make alchemical gold. And Sidonie knows that in courts all over Europe, would-be alchemists have been tortured and imprisoned, even executed, for promising gold they could not produce.

The story has more than enough intrigue and excitement to engage young readers, but it is the fascinating picture of an era long past, painted with such skill that as we read, we are there, that is the remarkable achievement of The Alchemistʼs Daughter.-- Canadian Teacher Magazine, fall 2004

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