Bargains! PROMOTIONS
This is a story of love, betrayal and intrigue at the opulent court of Louis XIV, the Sun King. In his quest for unrivalled magnificence in the construction of the royal palace at Versailles, the king sends envoys to Venice to lure the city's best glass workers to move to France for the construction of the great Hall of Mirrors. Thus, Andrea Allegri arrives in Paris, where he soon draws admiration from the king for his imaginative workmanship, and from the ladies of the court for his good looks and charming way of speaking. The French court is enmeshed in gossip, jealousy, intrigue and danger. As a foreigner, Allegri is in a unique position to observe from the outside, though it is not long before his charm and his attraction for Athenais, the king's latest mistress, and her intriguing maid Claudine draws him in. When rumours of poisonings and other dark deeds begin to be investigated by the authorities, it is the foreigners who first come under suspicion, and Allegri suddenly finds himself in very grave danger. Claire Colvin has researched 17th-century France with meticulous care and attention. The court and the cast of courtiers in her novel are based firmly in their historic context. At no point, however, do the historical details slow down the narrative. Colvin has found a way to weave essential information on glass-blowing and the construction of the finest mirrors into a story of deception and betrayal where image is all important and all-consuming. (Kirkus UK)
