What do you think?
Rate this book
The House of Niccolò #1
Niccolò Rising
In this first book of The House of Niccolò series, the author of the Lymond Chronicles introduces a new hero, Nicholas vander Poele of Bruges, the good-natured dyer's apprentice who schemes and swashbuckles his way to the helm of a mercantile empire.
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 15th century, when intrepid merchants became the new knighthood of Europe. Among them, none is bolder or more cunning than Nicholas vander Poele of Bruges.
Niccolò Rising, Book One of the series, finds us in Bruges, 1460. Jousting is the genteel pastime, and successful merchants are, of necessity, polyglot. Street smart, brilliant at figures, adept at the subtleties of diplomacy and the well-timed untruth, Dunnett's hero rises from wastrel to prodigy in a breathless adventure that wins him the hand of the strongest woman in Bruges and the hatred of two powerful enemies. From a riotous and potentially murderous carnival in Flanders, to an avalanche in the Alps and a pitched battle on the outskirts of Naples, Niccolò Rising combines history, adventure, and high romance in the tradition stretching from Alexandre Dumas to Mary Renault.
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 15th century, when intrepid merchants became the new knighthood of Europe. Among them, none is bolder or more cunning than Nicholas vander Poele of Bruges.
Niccolò Rising, Book One of the series, finds us in Bruges, 1460. Jousting is the genteel pastime, and successful merchants are, of necessity, polyglot. Street smart, brilliant at figures, adept at the subtleties of diplomacy and the well-timed untruth, Dunnett's hero rises from wastrel to prodigy in a breathless adventure that wins him the hand of the strongest woman in Bruges and the hatred of two powerful enemies. From a riotous and potentially murderous carnival in Flanders, to an avalanche in the Alps and a pitched battle on the outskirts of Naples, Niccolò Rising combines history, adventure, and high romance in the tradition stretching from Alexandre Dumas to Mary Renault.
470 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
305 people are currently reading
7145 people want to read
About the author
Dorothy Dunnett
35 books857 followersDorothy Dunnett OBE was a Scottish historical novelist. She is best known for her six-part series about Francis Crawford of Lymond, The Lymond Chronicles, which she followed with the eight-part prequel The House of Niccolò. She also wrote a novel about the real Macbeth called King Hereafter and a series of mystery novels centered on Johnson Johnson, a portrait painter/spy.
Her New York times obituary is here.
Dorothy Dunnett Society: http://dorothydunnett.org
Fansite: http://www.dorothydunnett.co.uk/
Her New York times obituary is here.
Dorothy Dunnett Society: http://dorothydunnett.org
Fansite: http://www.dorothydunnett.co.uk/
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 436 reviews
January 16, 2021
”The hand, heavily ringed, lay curled in the air, as if about to curve it in a greeting. Then M. de Riberac swept it downwards. His palm remained cupped towards him. His outer hand, with its heavy quartz ring, burst its way carefully down Claes’ cheek, from his eye to his chin, holding its blood-infilled course till the end. Then he drew his wrist back and let it dangle. Below the ring, blood appeared on the floor.”
Claes is an apprentice to the House of Charetty of Bruges. He is, for all intents and purposes, owned by Marian de Charetty, the widow who has had to be in charge of their dye business until her son Felix is old enough to take over. Claes has been raised with Felix, and though the heir enjoys ordering Claes about, they are more friends than master and servant.
The interesting wrinkle to all of this is that Claes sprung from the loins of a de Fleury. He is a bastard, and as the story evolves, we will discover that his father adds yet another dimension to the back history of Claes. He is the Horatio Alger of 15th century Bruges, and the reader will enjoy seeing Claes the fool evolve into Nicholas, or when he is in Italy Niccolo, and become a much sought after consultant in the power struggles between kings, princes, and aristocracy.
In the early chapters, one could wonder how he will ever get there. He makes long lasting enemies at such an alarming clip that I began to wonder how he was going to live long enough to be the protagonist in eight books. He is a prankster and a womanizer, slipping between one woman’s thighs in the wine cellar and then between the legs of another amongst the silk sheets of her bed. Women sigh when he passes, and men shake their heads. He creates these situations that seem like they are just elaborate pranks, but as we get to know Claes better, we start to understand that there is a bigger purpose behind almost everything he does. He may be acting out, but he is also learning how people react to the situations he creates.
The most dangerous enemy he makes is Jordan de Riberac, the man with the quartz ring who marks him for life. The scar is like an ownership brand. Every time Claes looks in the mirror, he will see what Riberac has done to him. He also makes an enemy of Jordan’s son, Simon, over the beautiful, curvaceous, opinionated Katelina van Borselen. She has been sent to Bruges to find a husband. She rejects Simon because he is an ass. His father, an even bigger ass, also attempts to force a marriage on her. The odd relationship she has with Claes/Nicholas is one of lustful hate, but somehow their stars keep ascending in the same sky.
”A candle, shielded from the door, had been lit. She had also loosened her hair from its night-pleat. She saw it reflected in his eyes, as if she had only summoned him as a mirror. Her hair, and the sheet, and her naked shoulders.”
Dorothy Dunnett
When I started reading this book, I had several readers get in touch with me to express their excitement that I was beginning their favorite historical fiction series of all time. They have read these books numerous times, and with each reading they have achieved a deeper affinity with the books. As a writer, I can’t imagine anything that could be said that would give me greater pleasure. Dorothy Dunnett manages to not only write compelling plots, but also develop characters to the point that the reader finds inspiration from their actions. Despite the trials and tribulations that would have frankly discouraged most other people, Nicholas/Niccolo doggedly keeps scheming, thinking, and putting sweat equity into all of his endeavors.
I can see why readers find him so inspirational. I certainly did.
He sees opportunity where others only see potential disaster. He becomes a trusted courier between kings, princes, and the powerful Medici family. It is dangerous work because one slip up and all trust between him and his clients will be ruined forever. At the same time, he is privy to information that few have the opportunity to know. He understands how to leverage this knowledge without compromising himself or his clients. Alum becomes a political hot potato, and he seizes the opportunity to make a better deal for this product that the House of Charetty needs to be competitive.
”About the alum. You’ve seen it. Casks of white powder in the dyeshop. Everyone needs it, to fix colours in cloth. It makes hides supple, and parchment last longer. It makes better glass and better paper.”
When you read this book, you will be in Bruges, in Milan, in Naples, in Venice. You will be on the battlefield of blood and guts and ledgers and figures. You will see the rise of a bastard who by birth should be one thing, but fate has given him a harder path. Thank goodness, because as Claes evolves into Nicholas, we see a better man emerge from a boy who eats with a wooden spoon instead of a silver one.
May the House of Niccolo continue to rise.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
Claes is an apprentice to the House of Charetty of Bruges. He is, for all intents and purposes, owned by Marian de Charetty, the widow who has had to be in charge of their dye business until her son Felix is old enough to take over. Claes has been raised with Felix, and though the heir enjoys ordering Claes about, they are more friends than master and servant.
The interesting wrinkle to all of this is that Claes sprung from the loins of a de Fleury. He is a bastard, and as the story evolves, we will discover that his father adds yet another dimension to the back history of Claes. He is the Horatio Alger of 15th century Bruges, and the reader will enjoy seeing Claes the fool evolve into Nicholas, or when he is in Italy Niccolo, and become a much sought after consultant in the power struggles between kings, princes, and aristocracy.
In the early chapters, one could wonder how he will ever get there. He makes long lasting enemies at such an alarming clip that I began to wonder how he was going to live long enough to be the protagonist in eight books. He is a prankster and a womanizer, slipping between one woman’s thighs in the wine cellar and then between the legs of another amongst the silk sheets of her bed. Women sigh when he passes, and men shake their heads. He creates these situations that seem like they are just elaborate pranks, but as we get to know Claes better, we start to understand that there is a bigger purpose behind almost everything he does. He may be acting out, but he is also learning how people react to the situations he creates.
The most dangerous enemy he makes is Jordan de Riberac, the man with the quartz ring who marks him for life. The scar is like an ownership brand. Every time Claes looks in the mirror, he will see what Riberac has done to him. He also makes an enemy of Jordan’s son, Simon, over the beautiful, curvaceous, opinionated Katelina van Borselen. She has been sent to Bruges to find a husband. She rejects Simon because he is an ass. His father, an even bigger ass, also attempts to force a marriage on her. The odd relationship she has with Claes/Nicholas is one of lustful hate, but somehow their stars keep ascending in the same sky.
”A candle, shielded from the door, had been lit. She had also loosened her hair from its night-pleat. She saw it reflected in his eyes, as if she had only summoned him as a mirror. Her hair, and the sheet, and her naked shoulders.”
Dorothy Dunnett
When I started reading this book, I had several readers get in touch with me to express their excitement that I was beginning their favorite historical fiction series of all time. They have read these books numerous times, and with each reading they have achieved a deeper affinity with the books. As a writer, I can’t imagine anything that could be said that would give me greater pleasure. Dorothy Dunnett manages to not only write compelling plots, but also develop characters to the point that the reader finds inspiration from their actions. Despite the trials and tribulations that would have frankly discouraged most other people, Nicholas/Niccolo doggedly keeps scheming, thinking, and putting sweat equity into all of his endeavors.
I can see why readers find him so inspirational. I certainly did.
He sees opportunity where others only see potential disaster. He becomes a trusted courier between kings, princes, and the powerful Medici family. It is dangerous work because one slip up and all trust between him and his clients will be ruined forever. At the same time, he is privy to information that few have the opportunity to know. He understands how to leverage this knowledge without compromising himself or his clients. Alum becomes a political hot potato, and he seizes the opportunity to make a better deal for this product that the House of Charetty needs to be competitive.
”About the alum. You’ve seen it. Casks of white powder in the dyeshop. Everyone needs it, to fix colours in cloth. It makes hides supple, and parchment last longer. It makes better glass and better paper.”
When you read this book, you will be in Bruges, in Milan, in Naples, in Venice. You will be on the battlefield of blood and guts and ledgers and figures. You will see the rise of a bastard who by birth should be one thing, but fate has given him a harder path. Thank goodness, because as Claes evolves into Nicholas, we see a better man emerge from a boy who eats with a wooden spoon instead of a silver one.
May the House of Niccolo continue to rise.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
January 16, 2010
This is my favorite historical novel, bar none.
I have re-read this novel and the rest of the series many times, but some things never change, no matter how many times I pick them up.
First, I have to read Niccolo very, very slowly. Dunnett has absolutely no patience with lazy readers. The plot is very complex and she doesn't coddle: you read closely, or you will be lost. It's amazing, really, (and heartening) that these stories are so popular and widely read in a day and age where people seem to lean toward the easier options available to them.
Second, I don't mind being a little confused and having to read slowly or even to re-read, because there are riches here to be enjoyed. She writes like a Brueghel painting: there's so much going on, you have to dedicate all your attention but when you do, you'll be amazed and rewarded.
This is, of course, historical fiction. The Niccolo series starts out in fifteenth century Bruges, which was the capital city of Flanders and today is widely considered to be the best preserved medieval city in Belgium. The main character, Claes, is introduced as an awkward, good natured, good looking eighteen year old with a penchant for getting himself and others into trouble, for romancing housemaids, and mostly for surviving the beatings everybody seems to heap on him. But that's just the early impression. Claes (who undergoes a transformation and will be known, eventually, as Niccolo) is about as complex and interesting a character I have ever run into in print.
I adore this novel. I would love to set up a wiki and take it apart, sentence by sentence, image by image, historical facts one by one.
I have re-read this novel and the rest of the series many times, but some things never change, no matter how many times I pick them up.
First, I have to read Niccolo very, very slowly. Dunnett has absolutely no patience with lazy readers. The plot is very complex and she doesn't coddle: you read closely, or you will be lost. It's amazing, really, (and heartening) that these stories are so popular and widely read in a day and age where people seem to lean toward the easier options available to them.
Second, I don't mind being a little confused and having to read slowly or even to re-read, because there are riches here to be enjoyed. She writes like a Brueghel painting: there's so much going on, you have to dedicate all your attention but when you do, you'll be amazed and rewarded.
This is, of course, historical fiction. The Niccolo series starts out in fifteenth century Bruges, which was the capital city of Flanders and today is widely considered to be the best preserved medieval city in Belgium. The main character, Claes, is introduced as an awkward, good natured, good looking eighteen year old with a penchant for getting himself and others into trouble, for romancing housemaids, and mostly for surviving the beatings everybody seems to heap on him. But that's just the early impression. Claes (who undergoes a transformation and will be known, eventually, as Niccolo) is about as complex and interesting a character I have ever run into in print.
I adore this novel. I would love to set up a wiki and take it apart, sentence by sentence, image by image, historical facts one by one.
December 29, 2008
This is the story of Claes AKA Nicholas AKA Niccolo van der Poele and his meteoric, often painful rise from a dyer’s apprentice to one of the premier businessmen in sixteenth-century Europe. Nicholas is brilliant, hilarious, and possessed of the sort of intellect and drive that are simultaneously intoxicating and very dangerous. He is a dyer, a toymaker, a natural mathematician, a fighter, a shameless cheat, a man of complex and often alarming motivations. He forms the backbone of these books, along with his friends and lovers and enemies, and the stories sprawl out around him to take in Bruges and Turkey and Cyprus and Africa, politics and business and high social drama, hilarity and romance and terrible tragedy.
The books are simply brilliant, in the way of writing that grabs you by the throat and the brainstem equally. Dunnett’s command of history is engrossing, her prose tense and precise, her characters crackling. Her writing is impressive because it looks easy – there’s something so perfectly balanced and poised about these books, as if every word is in the right place, and there to do some work. And they certainly do work – I laughed, I gasped, I squealed, I sniffled, I groaned. I also paid extraordinary amounts of attention, because not a conversation goes by that doesn’t have at least two layers tucked slyly beneath, horrifying or funny or just illuminating. These books are quite honestly the most intellectually invigorating things I’ve read in years.
I have quibbles (hi, I’m Light, and I quibble with books). Dunnett seems to really enjoy a helping of dramatic irony, both in portraying characters who spend a great deal of time wondering and thrashing about disasters the reader already knows about, and in ducking into the heads of people who spectacularly fail to comprehend Nicholas and the tides that move around him. It’s frankly annoying, though I should also clarify this is predictably my least favorite literary device.
I was also a bit . . . overwhelmed, by the end of Scales of Gold. Dunnett has a way of punching you in the kidneys in the last four pages, and perhaps it’s that these books are the only fiction I’ve been reading for nearly two months, but by the end the twist of family and revenge and counter-revenge had been amped up to a pitch I found a bit ear-splitting. Baroque is perhaps the word I’m looking for. I couldn’t put these books down, but now I desperately need to read anything else for a long time before I go on. Which is also the sign of incredibly . . . operant literature, come to think of it.
Quite the best things I’ve read in years, no exaggeration or caveats.
The books are simply brilliant, in the way of writing that grabs you by the throat and the brainstem equally. Dunnett’s command of history is engrossing, her prose tense and precise, her characters crackling. Her writing is impressive because it looks easy – there’s something so perfectly balanced and poised about these books, as if every word is in the right place, and there to do some work. And they certainly do work – I laughed, I gasped, I squealed, I sniffled, I groaned. I also paid extraordinary amounts of attention, because not a conversation goes by that doesn’t have at least two layers tucked slyly beneath, horrifying or funny or just illuminating. These books are quite honestly the most intellectually invigorating things I’ve read in years.
I have quibbles (hi, I’m Light, and I quibble with books). Dunnett seems to really enjoy a helping of dramatic irony, both in portraying characters who spend a great deal of time wondering and thrashing about disasters the reader already knows about, and in ducking into the heads of people who spectacularly fail to comprehend Nicholas and the tides that move around him. It’s frankly annoying, though I should also clarify this is predictably my least favorite literary device.
I was also a bit . . . overwhelmed, by the end of Scales of Gold. Dunnett has a way of punching you in the kidneys in the last four pages, and perhaps it’s that these books are the only fiction I’ve been reading for nearly two months, but by the end the twist of family and revenge and counter-revenge had been amped up to a pitch I found a bit ear-splitting. Baroque is perhaps the word I’m looking for. I couldn’t put these books down, but now I desperately need to read anything else for a long time before I go on. Which is also the sign of incredibly . . . operant literature, come to think of it.
Quite the best things I’ve read in years, no exaggeration or caveats.
September 8, 2015
‘Niccolo Rising’ is a work of narrative genius. If you enjoy that sort of thing, and historical fiction, and a taut dense construction, you will put this book down after finishing with a feeling of amazement and admiration for the author.
Dorothy Dunnett, the author, has the kind of intelligence and in-depth education many Ph.D. researchers of European history possess, along with the creativity and awareness of respected MFA Writer’s Workshops’ graduates.
(As a grumpy sideways comment, I don’t feel the MFA students of this century have the deeper emotional tones of human beings foremost in their writings, whatever the talent. Many twenty- and 21st-century authors with MFA degrees lean far into Modern or Post-Modern art territory. After some home-schooled explorations on my own, I must add I find the early 18th-century predecessors of and the actual period books described as Modern and Post-Modern literature to be distressingly sterile and dul(l)y compliant of literary deconstruction attributes, even if initially stimulating and superficially intellectual; at least I think so of those I have sampled from the recommended reading lists from recent decades. But I am digressing.)
I am certain to hurt feelings or sensibilities in my assessment that the ‘House of Niccolo’ series (8 books) is for expert readers only, but there I go - I wrote it down anyway.
The plot of ‘Niccolo Rising’ is not easy to follow, or describe, because the novel is a dense story of many threads, with politically-connected characters, many of whom are merchants with many short, seemingly unrelated, discursions on money and goods, much movement around 15th-century European city\principalities, and the actual aristocratic families which were in control, weaving in actual European history and warfare. In addition, making the book a marvel of construction, there are a multitude of hidden secrets and mysteries woven into the story that are not obvious to the reader until the last 50 or so pages. I only expose this because this series has been around for a few decades, and I think the density of the various plots (and writing) will very likely cause most readers who pick up these books to toss them after a hundred pages or so if not given encouragement to stick out the reading. It is a struggle to get beyond the first half of the book, but the reward of the ending makes it worthwhile.
The hero Claes, or Niccolo, won my heart as I saw his real tribulations, gradually revealed, that sprung from a humble beginning, along with his struggles against class and poverty, which were hidden behind a placid accepting smile of dimples and youthful simplicity to which the reader is initially introduced. Niccolo is a polymath, as it turns out, with a strategic genius Napoleon would have envied, along with a charismatic personality and a prodigal memory. The density of the plot matches the mult-dimensional intelligence of Niccolo (and, I suspect, the author), who is only 18 years of age throughout most of the novel. However, despite the taut procedural style of the writing, emotional tones are not neglected, even if often not spelled out. I would say it is a book that could claim ‘The Three Musketeers’ by Alexandre Dumas as a progenitor.
I recommend admirers of The Ice and Fire series (Game of Thrones) give this series a try, but be warned that it is a high-end intellectual sword (no sorcery) historical fiction written by an intelligent educated writer with a serious knowledge of the politics and customs of the late Middle Ages, where it takes place. I think she has a taut and thick procedural-plot style of writing (somewhat similar to police procedurals), though, which eliminated excessive descriptions or the filling in of any gaps of the reader’s knowledge about European history during the Middle Ages. My edition included maps, which are helpful, but honestly, I think a reader has to have more than a passing idea of the wars, personalities and developmental state of European society during the 15th century to be able to get beyond the first 200 pages, as well as an excellent ability to decipher English sentences. I kid you not. The author does not cater to occasional readers or weekend students of history. I thought she had obvious expectations that the reader had better keep up to enjoy the story because she was not going to waste time in extraneous descriptions or explanations. I felt like I did when I graduated with my college programming degree to only later discover that I knew nothing after meeting true techies who had been programming and tinkering with computers since they were children.
I intend to read the rest of the series; however, I will stop this series for now to read other books on my shelf. Perhaps as the series progresses the main character’s heroic tendencies may change, I don’t know, but as I believe I can regard myself as a literary reader outside of the (Ivory) Tower, a ‘wilder’ (readers of ‘The Wheel of Time’ series will understand), I enjoyed reading this book very much, and I count it as one of my favorites.
Dorothy Dunnett, the author, has the kind of intelligence and in-depth education many Ph.D. researchers of European history possess, along with the creativity and awareness of respected MFA Writer’s Workshops’ graduates.
(As a grumpy sideways comment, I don’t feel the MFA students of this century have the deeper emotional tones of human beings foremost in their writings, whatever the talent. Many twenty- and 21st-century authors with MFA degrees lean far into Modern or Post-Modern art territory. After some home-schooled explorations on my own, I must add I find the early 18th-century predecessors of and the actual period books described as Modern and Post-Modern literature to be distressingly sterile and dul(l)y compliant of literary deconstruction attributes, even if initially stimulating and superficially intellectual; at least I think so of those I have sampled from the recommended reading lists from recent decades. But I am digressing.)
I am certain to hurt feelings or sensibilities in my assessment that the ‘House of Niccolo’ series (8 books) is for expert readers only, but there I go - I wrote it down anyway.
The plot of ‘Niccolo Rising’ is not easy to follow, or describe, because the novel is a dense story of many threads, with politically-connected characters, many of whom are merchants with many short, seemingly unrelated, discursions on money and goods, much movement around 15th-century European city\principalities, and the actual aristocratic families which were in control, weaving in actual European history and warfare. In addition, making the book a marvel of construction, there are a multitude of hidden secrets and mysteries woven into the story that are not obvious to the reader until the last 50 or so pages. I only expose this because this series has been around for a few decades, and I think the density of the various plots (and writing) will very likely cause most readers who pick up these books to toss them after a hundred pages or so if not given encouragement to stick out the reading. It is a struggle to get beyond the first half of the book, but the reward of the ending makes it worthwhile.
The hero Claes, or Niccolo, won my heart as I saw his real tribulations, gradually revealed, that sprung from a humble beginning, along with his struggles against class and poverty, which were hidden behind a placid accepting smile of dimples and youthful simplicity to which the reader is initially introduced. Niccolo is a polymath, as it turns out, with a strategic genius Napoleon would have envied, along with a charismatic personality and a prodigal memory. The density of the plot matches the mult-dimensional intelligence of Niccolo (and, I suspect, the author), who is only 18 years of age throughout most of the novel. However, despite the taut procedural style of the writing, emotional tones are not neglected, even if often not spelled out. I would say it is a book that could claim ‘The Three Musketeers’ by Alexandre Dumas as a progenitor.
I recommend admirers of The Ice and Fire series (Game of Thrones) give this series a try, but be warned that it is a high-end intellectual sword (no sorcery) historical fiction written by an intelligent educated writer with a serious knowledge of the politics and customs of the late Middle Ages, where it takes place. I think she has a taut and thick procedural-plot style of writing (somewhat similar to police procedurals), though, which eliminated excessive descriptions or the filling in of any gaps of the reader’s knowledge about European history during the Middle Ages. My edition included maps, which are helpful, but honestly, I think a reader has to have more than a passing idea of the wars, personalities and developmental state of European society during the 15th century to be able to get beyond the first 200 pages, as well as an excellent ability to decipher English sentences. I kid you not. The author does not cater to occasional readers or weekend students of history. I thought she had obvious expectations that the reader had better keep up to enjoy the story because she was not going to waste time in extraneous descriptions or explanations. I felt like I did when I graduated with my college programming degree to only later discover that I knew nothing after meeting true techies who had been programming and tinkering with computers since they were children.
I intend to read the rest of the series; however, I will stop this series for now to read other books on my shelf. Perhaps as the series progresses the main character’s heroic tendencies may change, I don’t know, but as I believe I can regard myself as a literary reader outside of the (Ivory) Tower, a ‘wilder’ (readers of ‘The Wheel of Time’ series will understand), I enjoyed reading this book very much, and I count it as one of my favorites.
September 21, 2023
It's been a long, long while since I've had to compel myself to read a book till the end, and I don't think it's been one of those times when perseverance is rewarded.
The thing with this book is that, whilst it's the trademark Dunnett style of snail-paced buildup that explodes on the very last track of the race course before the finish line, neither the plot nor the characters are worth trudging on for so long (this isn't a small book) unless you like this setting, the theme of merchants, and have an exceptional tolerance for convoluted storytelling.
And I don't. I will take any obtuse and cryptic plot anytime—hey, Lymond is ten times harder and I read and reread that series!—so long as I find it compelling, which didn't happen this time. I simply couldn't care less about merchant schemes, dyeshops and clothes and travelling here and there and yonder with a commercial company. Bruges, the main setting, was of little interest as well, and the comings and goings dragged me to such depths of boredom that the occasional spurts of action didn't hold my attention for long, and the twists that were supposed to make this worthwhile by the end came just too late to compensate for the long wait. Yes, I realise that this is Dame Dorothy's style, I am quite familiar with that, she has done this often, and I am sure it'd have been worthwhile if the characters elicited a warm disposition that would at least help, since the plot wasn't compelling on its own.
But no luck there either. The characters are perhaps the poorer aspect in the book. Nicholas left me indifferent, I didn't care at all for any of the de Charetty children nor their mother, Katelina was irritating, Gelis was a Philippa wannabe with less charm, the merchant-mercenary troop had none that could hold a candle to the St. Mary men, and Simon . . . It's way too obvious that the antagonist in this series is an idiot.
I'd have loved it if at least one of the characters had grabbed my attention, as that would have motivated me to continue. It was what had me continuing with the previous series by Dunnett: I didn't have a good reaction to reading Lymond initially, but there were other characters in the first book that I liked very much and wanted to see again in spite of the main lead, so I continued and eventually came to love the books to bits. Here, neither the plot nor the characters interested me, and I very much doubt I'll pick up another book in this series. I'd heard casual comments before that Nicholas' story suffers greatly in comparison to Lymond's story with some readers that started with the latter first, and in my case it's been proven true.
The thing with this book is that, whilst it's the trademark Dunnett style of snail-paced buildup that explodes on the very last track of the race course before the finish line, neither the plot nor the characters are worth trudging on for so long (this isn't a small book) unless you like this setting, the theme of merchants, and have an exceptional tolerance for convoluted storytelling.
And I don't. I will take any obtuse and cryptic plot anytime—hey, Lymond is ten times harder and I read and reread that series!—so long as I find it compelling, which didn't happen this time. I simply couldn't care less about merchant schemes, dyeshops and clothes and travelling here and there and yonder with a commercial company. Bruges, the main setting, was of little interest as well, and the comings and goings dragged me to such depths of boredom that the occasional spurts of action didn't hold my attention for long, and the twists that were supposed to make this worthwhile by the end came just too late to compensate for the long wait. Yes, I realise that this is Dame Dorothy's style, I am quite familiar with that, she has done this often, and I am sure it'd have been worthwhile if the characters elicited a warm disposition that would at least help, since the plot wasn't compelling on its own.
But no luck there either. The characters are perhaps the poorer aspect in the book. Nicholas left me indifferent, I didn't care at all for any of the de Charetty children nor their mother, Katelina was irritating, Gelis was a Philippa wannabe with less charm, the merchant-mercenary troop had none that could hold a candle to the St. Mary men, and Simon . . . It's way too obvious that the antagonist in this series is an idiot.
I'd have loved it if at least one of the characters had grabbed my attention, as that would have motivated me to continue. It was what had me continuing with the previous series by Dunnett: I didn't have a good reaction to reading Lymond initially, but there were other characters in the first book that I liked very much and wanted to see again in spite of the main lead, so I continued and eventually came to love the books to bits. Here, neither the plot nor the characters interested me, and I very much doubt I'll pick up another book in this series. I'd heard casual comments before that Nicholas' story suffers greatly in comparison to Lymond's story with some readers that started with the latter first, and in my case it's been proven true.
June 20, 2025
Set initially in fifteenth century Flanders this tale offers up a magnificent portrait of merchants and traders, bankers and mercenaries, artisans and aristocrats all jostling for position and advantage in a volatile world. In the European background there is the war between Yorkists and Lancastrians in England, there is plotting amongst the Scots and the Burgundians, the French, the various Italian city states. Constantinople has recently fallen to the Ottomans but trade and commerce supersedes religion, and the presence of an alum mine in at the heart of the complex machinations which drive this plot.
Sitting, too, at the centre of the book is Niccolo, originally the apprentice Claes, a young and seemingly innocent and accepting dyer's apprentice but at the novel progresses a very different mind emerges: one more subtle, opaque and dangerous than anyone might have imagined.
The start of Dunnett's second great sequence is a little slow with quite a lot of prank-playing amongst the young men - but don't be fooled: Dunnett's ingenious mind is still at work and as we move from Flanders and a Duke's bath to Switzerland and the Italian wars, a labyrinthine plot starts to unravel.
Sitting, too, at the centre of the book is Niccolo, originally the apprentice Claes, a young and seemingly innocent and accepting dyer's apprentice but at the novel progresses a very different mind emerges: one more subtle, opaque and dangerous than anyone might have imagined.
The start of Dunnett's second great sequence is a little slow with quite a lot of prank-playing amongst the young men - but don't be fooled: Dunnett's ingenious mind is still at work and as we move from Flanders and a Duke's bath to Switzerland and the Italian wars, a labyrinthine plot starts to unravel.
September 26, 2021
*** 4.75 ***
Where have I been and how come I had never heard of this author, Dorothy Dunnett??? And even this time around, I took a chance at her book because someone had listed her under Fantasy genre, which at least for this book, is not true at all. This is pure Historical Fiction at it's best! I was reminded of the classic historical adventures, full of intrigues, political machinations, and lush historical settings in the most vibrant cultures of Europe in the early 1400's. This author is a jem, and I had totally missed her...
The book is about Nicholas, a young man of dubious birth and very confusing behavior, which most of the time drove me crazy, but obviously it all was mostly deliberate. However, when it wasn't, it stole my heart...
There are many characters, many more are mentioned and I think it is not just in passing, but all have an appointed purpose if not now, at least in the future of this 8 book series. As in any Historical Fiction of worth, our fictional characters are intertwined with bunches and bunches of real historic figures, many of whom were significant in the way the world was shaped at the time. I love this era, despite not being an expert, and had great time figuring out the real from the imagined. The author is exquisite in her ability to bring the time period to life without getting knees deep in descriptions and explanations, her language rich and colorful without being obtrusive, and some of her turn of phrase very amusing, without distracting from the plot. I was riveted throughout, and stuck with it even when I was very angry with some actions of the characters.
There was a loss of a main character, which brought tears to my eyes, despite me not really liking him at all... It is obvious that Ms. Dunnett is going to be killing folks and others are going to have to go through the ringer, and I think she is one of those who can do it without gratuitous violence and with a measurable punch... Overall, I am very excited to have stumbled, (literally, since I found her books in a lower shelf at a used books store), upon this addictive storyteller, and am looking forward to seeing where she takes me with this one...
Where have I been and how come I had never heard of this author, Dorothy Dunnett??? And even this time around, I took a chance at her book because someone had listed her under Fantasy genre, which at least for this book, is not true at all. This is pure Historical Fiction at it's best! I was reminded of the classic historical adventures, full of intrigues, political machinations, and lush historical settings in the most vibrant cultures of Europe in the early 1400's. This author is a jem, and I had totally missed her...
The book is about Nicholas, a young man of dubious birth and very confusing behavior, which most of the time drove me crazy, but obviously it all was mostly deliberate. However, when it wasn't, it stole my heart...
There are many characters, many more are mentioned and I think it is not just in passing, but all have an appointed purpose if not now, at least in the future of this 8 book series. As in any Historical Fiction of worth, our fictional characters are intertwined with bunches and bunches of real historic figures, many of whom were significant in the way the world was shaped at the time. I love this era, despite not being an expert, and had great time figuring out the real from the imagined. The author is exquisite in her ability to bring the time period to life without getting knees deep in descriptions and explanations, her language rich and colorful without being obtrusive, and some of her turn of phrase very amusing, without distracting from the plot. I was riveted throughout, and stuck with it even when I was very angry with some actions of the characters.
There was a loss of a main character, which brought tears to my eyes, despite me not really liking him at all... It is obvious that Ms. Dunnett is going to be killing folks and others are going to have to go through the ringer, and I think she is one of those who can do it without gratuitous violence and with a measurable punch... Overall, I am very excited to have stumbled, (literally, since I found her books in a lower shelf at a used books store), upon this addictive storyteller, and am looking forward to seeing where she takes me with this one...
March 8, 2012
I am kind of in love with this book. And Nicholas.
After many enthusiastic recs, I read the first book of Dorothy Dunnett's Chronicles of Lymond series last year, and though I found it a rather difficult read at first, it was a rewarding one. An exhausting one too, so I didn't immediately go on to read the rest of the series. While browsing at Bookman though, I saw they had Dunnett's Niccolo Rising, the first book in her "prequel" series to Lymond, following Claes, later Nicholas, Vander Poele in 1460 Bruges. I picked it up, and it sat hanging around my room for a while, until I chucked it in my bag to take with me to Big Bear over Thanksgiving. In an idle moment, I picked it up to start reading it, and fifty pages in I couldn't stop.
Niccolo Rising does not come off to quite such a damnably difficult and opaque start as Game of Kings does. With Game of Kings, you're scrambling to figure out what in the hell Lymond is up to, if he is who he seems, if he isn't, what the fuck he's even saying because God knows it takes a PhD in Renaissance lit to untangle it all, and what is all this history happening, I don't know anything about Scottish history, etc etc.
Claes comes off as rather more easy to understand at first: he's a simple-minded idiot, and he's just let a cannon fall into the canal. Except, he's not simple-minded, and maybe there's something more to this cannon falling into the canal, because he's a Dunnett protagonist, and no series of hers is going to hinge around a simple-minded dyemaker's apprentice who lets cannons fall into canals for no reason. So Claes has to be more than he seems, and it takes reading closely to figure out how at first. The plot of the book essentially charts Nicholas's rise up the ranks of society from dyemaker's apprentice in the Charetty company, to...well, that will spoil it, and as of the third book in the series, he's still rising.
The twists and turns of the plot are interesting enough, at least to me: Nicholas has a head for business, and business and economics were inextricably tied to politics in the 15th century. Nicholas's rise mainly centers around money, and earning lots of it while clawing his way up the social ladder. Besides the plot though, it was figuring out Nicholas/Claes that kept me reading so avidly, and it was one exchange early on in the book that absolutely hooked me:
"You do not like the handsome Simon, young varlet? You are jealous, perhaps? He is well dressed, and talks to beautiful demoiselles such as this lady. But he cannot speak Italian, or make children laugh, or be concerned for his friend as you are. Why dislike him?"
The youth Claes considered, his overbright gaze on the Greek. Then he said, "I don't dislike anyone."
Adorne said, "But you hurt them. You mock. You mimic. You offended the lady Katelina yesterday and today."
The gaze turned on him. "But they offend me, and I don't complain. People are what they are. Some are harder to pity than others. Felix would like to dress like my lord Simon, but he is seventeen, he will change. My lord Simon is not seventeen, but he acts like an oaf, and has the talents, you would say, of a girl; which must be a mortification to his father. But I think, Meester Adorne, that he does speak Italian, because he made a joke about you in that language. The lady Katelina will remember."
After watching him play the fool and seem cheerfully oblivious, this is the first bit of the real Claes Dunnett really shows: his brutal honesty and the way he can take people apart. This is Nicholas, who has a rather frightening intellect that's revealed in bits and pieces throughout the book. Nicholas kind of reduces me to flapping my hands. The whole series reduces me to flapping my hands. Because on the face of it, it can seem kind of dry. But trust me, all the business and politics and complex character relationships and hidden motivations come together to form something wildly compelling and engrossing.
I feel like I should review the whole series in one go, because as it is I'm still trying to figure Nicholas out. Also, I am in the place where I desperately want things to turn out okay for Nicholas. I am over-invested, okay. And it's not that Nicholas is a woobie-type character, Dunnett is pretty good at bringing him close to ridiculous woobie territory then swerving away from it. One minute it's all "omg no one understands him and he's weeping quietly and alone from his terrible whipping," and then it's "ho shit did he just orchestrate a byzantine and complex plot to have this dude killed?!"
After many enthusiastic recs, I read the first book of Dorothy Dunnett's Chronicles of Lymond series last year, and though I found it a rather difficult read at first, it was a rewarding one. An exhausting one too, so I didn't immediately go on to read the rest of the series. While browsing at Bookman though, I saw they had Dunnett's Niccolo Rising, the first book in her "prequel" series to Lymond, following Claes, later Nicholas, Vander Poele in 1460 Bruges. I picked it up, and it sat hanging around my room for a while, until I chucked it in my bag to take with me to Big Bear over Thanksgiving. In an idle moment, I picked it up to start reading it, and fifty pages in I couldn't stop.
Niccolo Rising does not come off to quite such a damnably difficult and opaque start as Game of Kings does. With Game of Kings, you're scrambling to figure out what in the hell Lymond is up to, if he is who he seems, if he isn't, what the fuck he's even saying because God knows it takes a PhD in Renaissance lit to untangle it all, and what is all this history happening, I don't know anything about Scottish history, etc etc.
Claes comes off as rather more easy to understand at first: he's a simple-minded idiot, and he's just let a cannon fall into the canal. Except, he's not simple-minded, and maybe there's something more to this cannon falling into the canal, because he's a Dunnett protagonist, and no series of hers is going to hinge around a simple-minded dyemaker's apprentice who lets cannons fall into canals for no reason. So Claes has to be more than he seems, and it takes reading closely to figure out how at first. The plot of the book essentially charts Nicholas's rise up the ranks of society from dyemaker's apprentice in the Charetty company, to...well, that will spoil it, and as of the third book in the series, he's still rising.
The twists and turns of the plot are interesting enough, at least to me: Nicholas has a head for business, and business and economics were inextricably tied to politics in the 15th century. Nicholas's rise mainly centers around money, and earning lots of it while clawing his way up the social ladder. Besides the plot though, it was figuring out Nicholas/Claes that kept me reading so avidly, and it was one exchange early on in the book that absolutely hooked me:
"You do not like the handsome Simon, young varlet? You are jealous, perhaps? He is well dressed, and talks to beautiful demoiselles such as this lady. But he cannot speak Italian, or make children laugh, or be concerned for his friend as you are. Why dislike him?"
The youth Claes considered, his overbright gaze on the Greek. Then he said, "I don't dislike anyone."
Adorne said, "But you hurt them. You mock. You mimic. You offended the lady Katelina yesterday and today."
The gaze turned on him. "But they offend me, and I don't complain. People are what they are. Some are harder to pity than others. Felix would like to dress like my lord Simon, but he is seventeen, he will change. My lord Simon is not seventeen, but he acts like an oaf, and has the talents, you would say, of a girl; which must be a mortification to his father. But I think, Meester Adorne, that he does speak Italian, because he made a joke about you in that language. The lady Katelina will remember."
After watching him play the fool and seem cheerfully oblivious, this is the first bit of the real Claes Dunnett really shows: his brutal honesty and the way he can take people apart. This is Nicholas, who has a rather frightening intellect that's revealed in bits and pieces throughout the book. Nicholas kind of reduces me to flapping my hands. The whole series reduces me to flapping my hands. Because on the face of it, it can seem kind of dry. But trust me, all the business and politics and complex character relationships and hidden motivations come together to form something wildly compelling and engrossing.
I feel like I should review the whole series in one go, because as it is I'm still trying to figure Nicholas out. Also, I am in the place where I desperately want things to turn out okay for Nicholas. I am over-invested, okay. And it's not that Nicholas is a woobie-type character, Dunnett is pretty good at bringing him close to ridiculous woobie territory then swerving away from it. One minute it's all "omg no one understands him and he's weeping quietly and alone from his terrible whipping," and then it's "ho shit did he just orchestrate a byzantine and complex plot to have this dude killed?!"
June 8, 2015
ETA: No, I cannot do it. I cannot give a book two stars if it is so bad I cannot finish it!
*********************************
I tried to read this book once before, and I gave up. Now several friends are reading this and so I thought it might be worth another try. I failed again. This time I read through 12 chapters.
What is wrong? What didn’t I like?
There are so many people; I have difficulty keeping them all straight. Sure I get the main gist of what is happening, but the details are too complicated, too confusing. I don't find the writing clear. I don't get excited when I should get excited. I realized when an that something was seriously wrong! I couldn't care less about any of the characters. I don't find the central character to be a believable figure. His antics are beginning to bore me. "Oh, not again!" is what goes through my mind. The history is, I assume, correct, but it is difficult to follow. During the middle of the 15th Century, did they really transport goods over the Alps in the middle of the winter? For me the story just goes on and on and on. What I do like is how the author draws places - Bruges and Geneva were fun to "see". Interesting historical tidbits and the descriptions of places save this from being a one star book, but this isn't enough to motivate me to continue.
I listened to the audiobok narrated by Gordon Griffin. Yeah, it was OK, but not special.
I have given the book two tries. This time I read a fourth of the entire book, a book having 470 pages. Isn't that a fair try?! Dorothy Dunnett is not for me.
*********************************
I tried to read this book once before, and I gave up. Now several friends are reading this and so I thought it might be worth another try. I failed again. This time I read through 12 chapters.
What is wrong? What didn’t I like?
There are so many people; I have difficulty keeping them all straight. Sure I get the main gist of what is happening, but the details are too complicated, too confusing. I don't find the writing clear. I don't get excited when I should get excited. I realized when an that something was seriously wrong! I couldn't care less about any of the characters. I don't find the central character to be a believable figure. His antics are beginning to bore me. "Oh, not again!" is what goes through my mind. The history is, I assume, correct, but it is difficult to follow. During the middle of the 15th Century, did they really transport goods over the Alps in the middle of the winter? For me the story just goes on and on and on. What I do like is how the author draws places - Bruges and Geneva were fun to "see". Interesting historical tidbits and the descriptions of places save this from being a one star book, but this isn't enough to motivate me to continue.
I listened to the audiobok narrated by Gordon Griffin. Yeah, it was OK, but not special.
I have given the book two tries. This time I read a fourth of the entire book, a book having 470 pages. Isn't that a fair try?! Dorothy Dunnett is not for me.
October 29, 2011
This will do for the whole series! Far be it from me to feed anyone's book addiction but have you met Dorothy Dunnett and her Nicolo series? They are historical novels set in late middle age/early renaissance Europe. They centre on the live of group of people in the great trading city of Brugge, then part of the independent duchy of Burgundy. The main character is one Nicholas van der Poele, who rises from the dyeing vats to head a trading house, a bank, a mercenary unit ... and has adventures all over the known world from Burgundian lands to the fall of Trebizond (the last remainder of the Byzantine empire) Scotland (Dunnett's home) via Venice, Cyprus, Africa ... Nicolo is a character worth getting to know, with a rather Byzantine view of the world and of good and bad which gets him into trouble time and again. He is also a greatly attractive character both in the story, he is loved by a whole series of women and men and loves some in return, and for the reader. Historically speaking, Dunnett knows, or rather knew her patch, and I find her world entirely credible including the amazing upward mobility that allowed tradesmen to become princes when the feudal, medieval society started changing. http://www.dorothydunnett.co.uk/ If you get hooked, blame me!
February 17, 2019
I was thinking of this over Valentine's Day as it has not one, but two, of my favorite written love scenes of all that I've ever read.
June 21, 2014
While expanding my knowledge of Medici Italy in MAGNIFICO, I was reminded over and over of peripheral characters in The House of Niccolo, the Renaissance series by the magnificent Dorothy Dunnett. With Unger as background, I decided, I could revisit this series with a better understanding of Niccolo's world. Was I ever right. :-)
And there's Niccolo. Apprentice develops into continental financier: Niccolo, whose many pranks with Felix, heir to the Charetty company, are constantly getting him into trouble and entertaining the city of Bruges. When I say there's much more to Niccolo/ Nicholas / Claes than meets the eye, I give you an image that will still be far too shallow. Through the adventure, drama and mercantile wars of this eight-book series, the central mystery is Niccolo.
Dorothy Dunnett was a genius. If her only achievements were her two historical mystery series, House of Niccolo and Crawford of Lymond, she would still be a genius. Read her rich, dense books slowly, because clues are scattered through the text. An emotional reaction that looks like one thing will turn out to have been something else two pages later. A phrase a speed reader might have missed could turn out to contain an explosion of laughter, trigger an emotional landslide, or illuminate a previous sequence like a sudden flare.
If you like complicated plots and settings, grab a Dunnett series.
And there's Niccolo. Apprentice develops into continental financier: Niccolo, whose many pranks with Felix, heir to the Charetty company, are constantly getting him into trouble and entertaining the city of Bruges. When I say there's much more to Niccolo/ Nicholas / Claes than meets the eye, I give you an image that will still be far too shallow. Through the adventure, drama and mercantile wars of this eight-book series, the central mystery is Niccolo.
Dorothy Dunnett was a genius. If her only achievements were her two historical mystery series, House of Niccolo and Crawford of Lymond, she would still be a genius. Read her rich, dense books slowly, because clues are scattered through the text. An emotional reaction that looks like one thing will turn out to have been something else two pages later. A phrase a speed reader might have missed could turn out to contain an explosion of laughter, trigger an emotional landslide, or illuminate a previous sequence like a sudden flare.
If you like complicated plots and settings, grab a Dunnett series.
July 1, 2014
The Great Niccolò Re-read of 2014, or This Time I Will Actually Pay Attention and Understand Things, Dammit.
Dorothy Dunnett's plots are like a Rube Goldberg machine. Niccolò Rising is both a Rube Goldberg machine in itself and the beginning of the even bigger and more elaborate Rube Goldberg machine that is the House of Niccolò series. On first read, it's confusing, but the bright side is that every re-read is more and more enjoyable as you come to fully understand the intricacies of Dunnett's world and its people.
Niccolò Rising charts the ascent of Claes vander Poele, a good-natured, buffoonish, 18-year-old dyer's apprentice and orphaned bastard whose clowning, however, merely serves to hide a brilliant mathematical mind and perhaps more deep-rooted resentment than even he is aware of. Claes uses his talents to attract the attention of various powerful patrons, from his employer the Widow de Charetty to Nicholai Giorgio de' Acciajuoli, of the blood of Athenian princes, to the Medici company itself. He launches a series of risky but lucrative schemes and, by the end of the book, has made his employer's company rich and reduced an enemy's to smoking ruins.
In a way, Dunnett's historical novels are mysteries, and the mystery is always "what the hell is going on?" Since they're also good mysteries, you always know the answer in the end. The author controls information so carefully that it's almost impossible to guess what's going to happen or what it all means in advance; you have to wait while she pulls away layer after layer, revealing the schemes beneath the mundane business of everyday life, the double meanings behind innocuous conversations, and the twists and vulnerabilities in the psyche of her hero. It's virtuoso writing at its best and damn, is it exciting. Is there anything more fun than reading a Dorothy Dunnett book? Maybe puppies, but there would have to be a lot of them.
Dorothy Dunnett's plots are like a Rube Goldberg machine. Niccolò Rising is both a Rube Goldberg machine in itself and the beginning of the even bigger and more elaborate Rube Goldberg machine that is the House of Niccolò series. On first read, it's confusing, but the bright side is that every re-read is more and more enjoyable as you come to fully understand the intricacies of Dunnett's world and its people.
Niccolò Rising charts the ascent of Claes vander Poele, a good-natured, buffoonish, 18-year-old dyer's apprentice and orphaned bastard whose clowning, however, merely serves to hide a brilliant mathematical mind and perhaps more deep-rooted resentment than even he is aware of. Claes uses his talents to attract the attention of various powerful patrons, from his employer the Widow de Charetty to Nicholai Giorgio de' Acciajuoli, of the blood of Athenian princes, to the Medici company itself. He launches a series of risky but lucrative schemes and, by the end of the book, has made his employer's company rich and reduced an enemy's to smoking ruins.
In a way, Dunnett's historical novels are mysteries, and the mystery is always "what the hell is going on?" Since they're also good mysteries, you always know the answer in the end. The author controls information so carefully that it's almost impossible to guess what's going to happen or what it all means in advance; you have to wait while she pulls away layer after layer, revealing the schemes beneath the mundane business of everyday life, the double meanings behind innocuous conversations, and the twists and vulnerabilities in the psyche of her hero. It's virtuoso writing at its best and damn, is it exciting. Is there anything more fun than reading a Dorothy Dunnett book? Maybe puppies, but there would have to be a lot of them.
August 29, 2023
It pains me that I disliked this as much as I did.
June 18, 2015
If Dunnett's Lymond saga was too difficult for you, you should try the Niccolo series... Same great writing but a little more transparent plots and much fewer foreign language quotes. This series is a must for historical fiction fans!
June 2015 reread
I was surprised on this reread by how much of the plot of the entire series is laid out in this first book. I don't mean that there is a lot of hidden foreshadowing but almost all the main characters were introduced and the stage was set. I enjoyed seeing how deftly Dunnett showed the evolution of Claes into Nicholas (or Niccolo) and did see what I think were some hints of things to come later in the series. Dunnett's writing is dense and complex so I find it more enjoyable upon rereading. Knowing the basic elements of the plot allowed me to concentrate more on the writing and descriptive details that sometimes bogged me down the first time through.
June 2015 reread
I was surprised on this reread by how much of the plot of the entire series is laid out in this first book. I don't mean that there is a lot of hidden foreshadowing but almost all the main characters were introduced and the stage was set. I enjoyed seeing how deftly Dunnett showed the evolution of Claes into Nicholas (or Niccolo) and did see what I think were some hints of things to come later in the series. Dunnett's writing is dense and complex so I find it more enjoyable upon rereading. Knowing the basic elements of the plot allowed me to concentrate more on the writing and descriptive details that sometimes bogged me down the first time through.
April 29, 2011
As amazing and enjoyable on the third reading as it was on the first. I was able to spend less time trying to figure out who's who and focus instead on the nuances of the story so I can see how every piece fits into place. And there's still more to discover, awaiting the fourth reading.
March 1, 2018
Ho incontrato Niccolò per caso, perché mi piace ogni tanto leggere un bel romanzone storico, e questo sembrava ben scritto.
E' stato un incontro devastante: dopo il primo, ho atteso spasmodicamente la traduzione dei successivi, ho scritto alla casa editrice, me li sono comperata in inglese. Quando sono usciti tutti in italiano mi sono iscritta ad un gruppo di lettura americano e li ho riletti tutti in sequenza, commentandoli e sviscerandoli (una fatica! in inglese)
L'ho regalato ad amici e ad alcuni ha fatto lo stesso effetto (altri l'hanno trovato non degno di tanta attenzione).
Perché? Perché è scritto bene, storicamente è documentatissimo ma non è "pesante", perché l'intreccio si dipana magicamente da un libro all'altro (per 8 volumi), perché Dorothy (si, non mi sento di chiamarla Dunnett) scrive magistralmente di sentimenti senza scriverne una riga, perché non usa trabocchetti per farsi leggere (colpi di scena immotivati, sensazionalismi, etc.), perché non è facile da leggere, anzi. Ma è proprio bello: non accattivante, o coinvolgente, o sensazionale, no, è bello.
P.s.: questa copertina è orribile!
E' stato un incontro devastante: dopo il primo, ho atteso spasmodicamente la traduzione dei successivi, ho scritto alla casa editrice, me li sono comperata in inglese. Quando sono usciti tutti in italiano mi sono iscritta ad un gruppo di lettura americano e li ho riletti tutti in sequenza, commentandoli e sviscerandoli (una fatica! in inglese)
L'ho regalato ad amici e ad alcuni ha fatto lo stesso effetto (altri l'hanno trovato non degno di tanta attenzione).
Perché? Perché è scritto bene, storicamente è documentatissimo ma non è "pesante", perché l'intreccio si dipana magicamente da un libro all'altro (per 8 volumi), perché Dorothy (si, non mi sento di chiamarla Dunnett) scrive magistralmente di sentimenti senza scriverne una riga, perché non usa trabocchetti per farsi leggere (colpi di scena immotivati, sensazionalismi, etc.), perché non è facile da leggere, anzi. Ma è proprio bello: non accattivante, o coinvolgente, o sensazionale, no, è bello.
P.s.: questa copertina è orribile!
February 19, 2011
The House of Niccolo starts in 1460 in Bruges then moves to the city state of Venice and ends up in Trebizond at the end of the Byzantine Empire. Breathtaking in scope. Thru the 7 books (500 + pages each) you go to all the same places as Lymond does in the Lymond Chronicles but add in Iceland and Mali (as the first white man to make it that deep into the African continent). It follows the title character and his female love interest which is sometimes actual love but mostly revenge trading off between the two of them. Fascinating travelog and nightmare relationships with so many twists and turns your head is spinning.
I learned more from her perspective of the Christian vs. Muslim clash than any commentary I have read or heard in today's age. It is also interesting how the 2 series have very different views on this subject due to the time difference and the spread of Islam thru the levant. In Niccolo Islam is taking over the area, in Lymond the Christians are pushing back.
I learned more from her perspective of the Christian vs. Muslim clash than any commentary I have read or heard in today's age. It is also interesting how the 2 series have very different views on this subject due to the time difference and the spread of Islam thru the levant. In Niccolo Islam is taking over the area, in Lymond the Christians are pushing back.
June 1, 2024
It's not the Lymond Chronicles for sure, but still very enjoyable.
RTC
RTC
October 10, 2015
This review is for the entire 8 book series. There will be no spoilers. I am also going to add a review under "Gemini" which will have spoilers.
I am not a literary critic, nor a book editor. I am not an art critic, or expert. But sometimes, when I look at a painting; when I read a book (or in this case a series of books), I am drawn into, and made breathless, and in awe by what I am seeing or reading. And it's hard for me to express, sometimes in words why. It just speaks to me - literally speaks to my soul. Touches me to the very depths of who I am. Dorothy Dunnett's books are like that for me. They are masterpieces; they are literary art. These books are not easy reads. None of her historical books are - so be warned. These books force you to use your brain. They demand that you respect them - that you SET ASIDE TIME to read them. But here's the thing - if you do respect them, and set aside time to read them, you will be well rewarded. That I promise. For the thing about Dunnett is this: she is a master of historical fiction, (my opinion - the best author of historical fiction of the 20th century - hands down), she is the master of character building, and the psychology of characters - both major and minor, and she is the master at bringing to life the time period in which she sets her stories.
These books are about the life of a man. Claus, Nicolo, Nicholas. It begins when he is in his late teens, and goes through his forties. It's about coming from nothing, and making something of ones self. About the choices that are made. About the financial/business successes, the friends, the loves, the loses that shape and form a person. Redemption. A classic story, but told in Dunnett's impeccable style. With humor, and grace, and pain, and always about the main character growing, and learning, and becoming who he is meant to be. It is set in late Medieval Europe, and Africa, and the Middle East. (I did warn you that you'd learn something about the historical time that she is writing about).
And I want to add something else. PLEASE, if you think you'd like to read these books - please start with book one. These books are a series of books, where each one builds on the last, both for the story line, and for the character building. Really, it's not the sort of series where you can drop into the middle and get the full sense of the richness of the story. You'll lose the depth of it, the beauty of it. (And I'm tired of reading 1 star reviews where people say they can't understand why people are so in love with Dunnett, when they didn't start with the first book, but the 4th or 5th or 8th even, and wonder why they don't enjoy the story). Sorry, I had to vent a little.
So I really do hope you take a chance and read this series of 8 books. And I hope you love them. And I hope you end up loving Dorothy Dunnett as much as I do. And if you haven't read her earlier series of 6 books, "The Lymond Chronicles", I hope you read those as well. (They tie into these books).
Enjoy!!!!
I am not a literary critic, nor a book editor. I am not an art critic, or expert. But sometimes, when I look at a painting; when I read a book (or in this case a series of books), I am drawn into, and made breathless, and in awe by what I am seeing or reading. And it's hard for me to express, sometimes in words why. It just speaks to me - literally speaks to my soul. Touches me to the very depths of who I am. Dorothy Dunnett's books are like that for me. They are masterpieces; they are literary art. These books are not easy reads. None of her historical books are - so be warned. These books force you to use your brain. They demand that you respect them - that you SET ASIDE TIME to read them. But here's the thing - if you do respect them, and set aside time to read them, you will be well rewarded. That I promise. For the thing about Dunnett is this: she is a master of historical fiction, (my opinion - the best author of historical fiction of the 20th century - hands down), she is the master of character building, and the psychology of characters - both major and minor, and she is the master at bringing to life the time period in which she sets her stories.
These books are about the life of a man. Claus, Nicolo, Nicholas. It begins when he is in his late teens, and goes through his forties. It's about coming from nothing, and making something of ones self. About the choices that are made. About the financial/business successes, the friends, the loves, the loses that shape and form a person. Redemption. A classic story, but told in Dunnett's impeccable style. With humor, and grace, and pain, and always about the main character growing, and learning, and becoming who he is meant to be. It is set in late Medieval Europe, and Africa, and the Middle East. (I did warn you that you'd learn something about the historical time that she is writing about).
And I want to add something else. PLEASE, if you think you'd like to read these books - please start with book one. These books are a series of books, where each one builds on the last, both for the story line, and for the character building. Really, it's not the sort of series where you can drop into the middle and get the full sense of the richness of the story. You'll lose the depth of it, the beauty of it. (And I'm tired of reading 1 star reviews where people say they can't understand why people are so in love with Dunnett, when they didn't start with the first book, but the 4th or 5th or 8th even, and wonder why they don't enjoy the story). Sorry, I had to vent a little.
So I really do hope you take a chance and read this series of 8 books. And I hope you love them. And I hope you end up loving Dorothy Dunnett as much as I do. And if you haven't read her earlier series of 6 books, "The Lymond Chronicles", I hope you read those as well. (They tie into these books).
Enjoy!!!!
October 27, 2021
I have wanted to start the series since 2017, but have always been put off by the length. Long, slow, heavy books and series are something I’m almost never in the mood for lately, so in a way, I’m surprised that I went for it now. But while it was, indeed, too long for my mood, the plot was good enough that I was able to both finish and enjoy it.
Come for the scheming merchants, stay for the chekhov’s ostrich.
There is, honestly, not too much to say about the plot. It’s the story of the titular Niccolò’s rise to power, a prologue to what’s obviously going to be a much longer epic series. The concerns of the characters are, on paper, fairly boring – finance, trading, and so on – and the pacing is slow, but I still found myself curious what crazy thing is waiting around the corner.
For one, there is the ostrich. This must be the only book with a chekhov’s ostrich (you know, the feathered biped version of a chekhov’s gun), and both the setup and the punchline when it finally goes off are magnificent. This must be the best example of an author playing the long game with a joke I’ve ever seen.
The worldbuilding is very detailed (so many descriptions of 15th century clothes and headwear) and, I suspect, very well researched. As this is the 15th and not the 18th century aka not my time period of choice, it wasn’t a huge draw for me and I didn’t get the references, but I could appreciate the intricacy. If you are into the 15th century, however, and somehow haven’t read it yet, you probably should.
Like many multi-POV epics, it’s also not very character-focused. We get very little insight into what are they thinking, and their motivations especially often remain a puzzle for us to guess. There are reasons for this, especially when it comes to Niccolò, I wouldn’t call it a fault, but it can make it a little hard to connect for those of us who prefer a more close-up approach.
However, at the end it came together magnificently. While it is a first book in a long series and it does have a sequel hook, but the ending itself is satisfying and the arc complete. A series I will definitely continue, but due to the length and slowness of the individual books, not immediately.
Enjoyment: 4/5
Execution: 5/5
Recommended to: those who like scheming, clever protagonists, epic fantasy fans who want to branch out into historical fiction
Not recommended to: those who don’t like long slow books or like more of a character focus
Content warnings: an almost-rape scene
More reviews on my blog, To Other Worlds.
Come for the scheming merchants, stay for the chekhov’s ostrich.
There is, honestly, not too much to say about the plot. It’s the story of the titular Niccolò’s rise to power, a prologue to what’s obviously going to be a much longer epic series. The concerns of the characters are, on paper, fairly boring – finance, trading, and so on – and the pacing is slow, but I still found myself curious what crazy thing is waiting around the corner.
For one, there is the ostrich. This must be the only book with a chekhov’s ostrich (you know, the feathered biped version of a chekhov’s gun), and both the setup and the punchline when it finally goes off are magnificent. This must be the best example of an author playing the long game with a joke I’ve ever seen.
The worldbuilding is very detailed (so many descriptions of 15th century clothes and headwear) and, I suspect, very well researched. As this is the 15th and not the 18th century aka not my time period of choice, it wasn’t a huge draw for me and I didn’t get the references, but I could appreciate the intricacy. If you are into the 15th century, however, and somehow haven’t read it yet, you probably should.
Like many multi-POV epics, it’s also not very character-focused. We get very little insight into what are they thinking, and their motivations especially often remain a puzzle for us to guess. There are reasons for this, especially when it comes to Niccolò, I wouldn’t call it a fault, but it can make it a little hard to connect for those of us who prefer a more close-up approach.
However, at the end it came together magnificently. While it is a first book in a long series and it does have a sequel hook, but the ending itself is satisfying and the arc complete. A series I will definitely continue, but due to the length and slowness of the individual books, not immediately.
Enjoyment: 4/5
Execution: 5/5
Recommended to: those who like scheming, clever protagonists, epic fantasy fans who want to branch out into historical fiction
Not recommended to: those who don’t like long slow books or like more of a character focus
Content warnings: an almost-rape scene
More reviews on my blog, To Other Worlds.
December 10, 2020
Moderately interesting so far. A lot of - sometimes too much - detail threaten to suffocate the story at times. Decent characters which appear to be way too savvy about the current political occurrences, as if they had access to newspapers twice a day. Author apparently in love with her style. But I kinda like the main character and I'll see what happens.
All right, I've finished it. I'm confused. I'm glad to have read it, but I can't say it gave me enough pleasure. I persevered, and was given some tasty bits as a reward, but too few and far between.
I appreciate the effort which so obviously went into the writing of this book, and at the same time the surety with which the author considers the reader equally interested in all the details and undercurrents of the story - this surety just puts me off a little. There is too much of it all, so many names, political events and intrigues are supposedly contributing to the story that it's impossible, or rather too tedious to believe in it. I was like, "all right, Trebizond, King James, the ostrich and the Medici, they all take part in it, oh please hurry with the story, if there is any".
Plus, the main character is cunning, noble, well educated, funny, loved by women and children and slaves, and - I'm sorry to say - has such a modern attitude towards many things (not only him, his friends as well) that I was completely taken aback. I certainly hadn't expected to find so many anachronistic moments and dialogues in such an acclaimed and otherwise well researched novel. I really don't know what to do, because I'd like to see Claes deal with Simon and stuff, but how will I survive being slowly drowned in another political marinade?
All right, I've finished it. I'm confused. I'm glad to have read it, but I can't say it gave me enough pleasure. I persevered, and was given some tasty bits as a reward, but too few and far between.
I appreciate the effort which so obviously went into the writing of this book, and at the same time the surety with which the author considers the reader equally interested in all the details and undercurrents of the story - this surety just puts me off a little. There is too much of it all, so many names, political events and intrigues are supposedly contributing to the story that it's impossible, or rather too tedious to believe in it. I was like, "all right, Trebizond, King James, the ostrich and the Medici, they all take part in it, oh please hurry with the story, if there is any".
Plus, the main character is cunning, noble, well educated, funny, loved by women and children and slaves, and - I'm sorry to say - has such a modern attitude towards many things (not only him, his friends as well) that I was completely taken aback. I certainly hadn't expected to find so many anachronistic moments and dialogues in such an acclaimed and otherwise well researched novel. I really don't know what to do, because I'd like to see Claes deal with Simon and stuff, but how will I survive being slowly drowned in another political marinade?
January 10, 2008
Welcome to the world of Dorothy Dunnett! I can't remember how I learned about this book, but I started with this series. I started, and didn't stop reading until I read all day and night for months finishing this series, delved right into The Lymond Chronicles, immediately reread this, followed by a second read of Lymond. Ahhhh. Dunnett is an intellectual writer - these books are not to skim thru, they are dense with information about characters, plot and history. The first read through don't expect to know everything that's going on - you are not meant to, it's a puzzle that comes together at the end in brilliant resolution. I also spend alot of time googling history, which was fascinating, Dunnett has done her research meticulously and I learned a ton. What can I say? I was obsessed with her books, have since purchased all of them, and am just waiting to give some time before I reread. Again.
September 14, 2012
Love, love love Ms. Dunnett's writing. This is historical fiction written by a master story teller. She gives us a main character so surprising and complex in a world so richly drawn -- an amazing tour de force. Niccolo is a dense, complex read and you have to keep track of a lot. A lot of characters and plot twists. If this isn't your thing then this may not be the book for you. But if you love intrigue, mystery, adventure and romance delivered by a fantastic writer you must give this book a try. Niccolo is the first in a huge series (8 books ?) and I honestly think this is the hardest one to get through in that it has so much to set up. Once you figure out the main characters and what they're about book 2 is a much easier read. HIghly recommended.
October 14, 2014
Why I have never read a Dunnett book before is beyond me. Set in one of my favorite eras, with stellar writing and political intrigue, it's really my perfect book. And hopefully series.
The story is set amoung the cloth merchants, bankers and mercenaries of 15th century Bruges. With characters from very poor to very rich, enemies and friends are forged and fortunes are there to be made.
It took me a few chapters to understand what was going on and who the main characters were, the story and writing are dense, the description can be long and there are many characters to keep track of but if that doesn't phase you, you just might love this book as much as I did.
The story is set amoung the cloth merchants, bankers and mercenaries of 15th century Bruges. With characters from very poor to very rich, enemies and friends are forged and fortunes are there to be made.
It took me a few chapters to understand what was going on and who the main characters were, the story and writing are dense, the description can be long and there are many characters to keep track of but if that doesn't phase you, you just might love this book as much as I did.
October 23, 2020
This is a re-read. My 4th in fact.
The most incredibly crafted, amazingly historically accurate - and forever relevant tale of Niccolo, who is, to me, one of the most important constructs and influences in my reading life.
Amazing again and again. And undoubtedly again in the future.
The most incredibly crafted, amazingly historically accurate - and forever relevant tale of Niccolo, who is, to me, one of the most important constructs and influences in my reading life.
Amazing again and again. And undoubtedly again in the future.
December 19, 2018
A late contender for favourite read of the year. Nobody does historical fiction like Dunnett, the sheer scope and how she exposes the intricacies of both daily life and political and mercantile intrigue is extraordinary and so fun to read and then she is also building incredibly taut emotional denouements as well. I adore marriage of convenience plots (as does Dunnett clearly) and this one doesn't disappoint. There is an element of comparing Lymond and Claes and they certainly overlap but then it's where they diverge that's the intriguing part and also the fact that we are starting with Claes much earlier on and this half-formed inelegant thing that he is now and honestly I worry for the boy but he feels worth investing in. :)
March 11, 2016
L'apprendista delle Fiandre, in originale "Niccolò Rising", è un romanzo della scrittrice scozzese Dorothy Dunnett, edito nel 1986. E' il primo romanzo della serie di Niccolò, che consta di otto libri.
La Serie di Niccolò è una serie di otto romanzi storici di Dorothy Dunnett ambientati a metà del XV secolo, in pieno Rinascimento europeo. Il protagonista della serie è Nicholas de Fleury (Niccolò, Nicholas van der Poele, o Claes), un ragazzo di nascita povera ed incerta, che arriverà alla ricchezza grazie alle sue abilità nei mercati bancari europei e ad intrighi politici internazionali. Le ambientazioni di questa serie sono molto affascinanti e si estendono molto geograficamente per portare il lettore ad ammirare gli importanti centri urbani di Bruges, Venezia, Firenze, Ginevra e la Lega anseatica, la Borgogna, le Fiandre, la Polonia, l'Islanda; la penisola iberica e di Madera, le città del Mar Nero di Trebisonda e Caffa, la Persia e le isole mediterranee di Cipro e Rodi, l'Egitto e la penisola del Sinai, per finire con l'Africa occidentale e la città di Timbuktu.
Gli otto volumi della saga sono parte di ciò che l'autrice ha visto come un grande lavoro di quattordici volumi, che comprende i sei romanzi delle "Cronache di Laymond". Quest'ultima è stata scritta prima della serie di Niccolò, ma avviene cronologicamente più tardi, raccontando la storia dei discendenti dei personaggi della prima serie, nel secolo successivo. Ci sono differenze significative nella approccio narrativo e lo stile di scrittura tra le serie, che riflette in parte il diverso cammino personale presa dal personaggio centrale in ciascun libro.
Il personaggio di Niccolò, o Claes, è un apprendista di diciotto anni sempre allegro, nativo di Dyer, di sfortunata nascita, è stato accolto da parenti di sua madre dopo la sua morte; ben presto diventa evidente che Claes, è un eclettico e poliglotta, e si sta trasformando in un grande leader e giocatore di grandi giochi. Ama creare e risolvere i puzzle di ogni genere, è bravissimo con la matematica, e si applica a imparare tutto il possibile (lingue, ingegneria, comabttimenti, costumi di corte, filosofia), sia per scopi pratici che per il bene di apprendimento. Da apprendista, salirà la scala gerarchica a commerciante, poi banchiere, maestro di guerra, e infine consigliere di re. Nicholas ritiene di essere il figlio legittimo del bel Simon de St. Pol di Kilmirren, un signore scozzese, campione di giostre medievali e commerciante. Simon nega, sostenendo che Claes è un bastardo nato dalla sua prima moglie. Il desiderio di Nicholas per l'accettazione del riconoscimento paterno guideranno gran parte della serie.
La trama in sintesi (anche se è molto complessa) di questo primo libro: il libro si svolge in gran parte nelle Fiandre, in Borgogna e in Italia nel 1460. Il lettore viene introdotto in un mondo molto diverso eppure sottilmente simile ai giorni nostri. Le ambizioni di classe, i giudizi realizzati sulla base delle linee di sangue, le barriere tra le famiglie nobili e quelle della borghesia nascente e quelle dei poveri considerati inferiori sono insuperabili. Ma sono tempi propizi per i giovani decisi a far fortuna e Claes - o Nicolas, o Niccolò: ogni nome segna una tappa del suo destino - , apprendista tintore di oscuri natali, è uno di loro. Il giovane si mescola all'umanità sulla quale vuole emergere, gareggiando in astuzia con i mercanti e in spregiudicatezza con i mercenari e le spie. Dalla sua ha la bellezza, l'intelligenza, il potere di toccare il cuore delle donne e soprattutto, il fuoco inestinguibile dell'ambizione di primeggiare in un mondo che gli si offre come un frutto maturo.
I libri della saga di Niccolò, uno più bello dell'altro, per chi ama i libri storici questo ciclo dovrebbe essere un must da avere senza ma e senza se. L'autrice è bravissima nel descrivere vita, luoghi, personaggi, trame complesse nel rinascimento dove colloca tutti i suoi personaggi. La scrittura è opulenta di descrizioni, sembra quasi pennellare un affresco storico che più lo osservi e impari a conoscerlo più vieni trascinato dentro di esso. I personaggi sono complessi, ambigui e si muovono perfettamente nell'insieme del libro. Conoscerete anche voi Claes, umile apprendista, diventare mercante, mercenario, avventuriero... meraviglioso.
Appassionante. La prima parola che mi viene in mente quando penso a questa serie di libri stupendi. Iniziata la lettura non riuscirete a staccarvi facilmente, consigliato a tutti ma specialmente a chi ama le ambientazioni storiche.
Uno straordinario affresco storico.
La Serie di Niccolò è una serie di otto romanzi storici di Dorothy Dunnett ambientati a metà del XV secolo, in pieno Rinascimento europeo. Il protagonista della serie è Nicholas de Fleury (Niccolò, Nicholas van der Poele, o Claes), un ragazzo di nascita povera ed incerta, che arriverà alla ricchezza grazie alle sue abilità nei mercati bancari europei e ad intrighi politici internazionali. Le ambientazioni di questa serie sono molto affascinanti e si estendono molto geograficamente per portare il lettore ad ammirare gli importanti centri urbani di Bruges, Venezia, Firenze, Ginevra e la Lega anseatica, la Borgogna, le Fiandre, la Polonia, l'Islanda; la penisola iberica e di Madera, le città del Mar Nero di Trebisonda e Caffa, la Persia e le isole mediterranee di Cipro e Rodi, l'Egitto e la penisola del Sinai, per finire con l'Africa occidentale e la città di Timbuktu.
Gli otto volumi della saga sono parte di ciò che l'autrice ha visto come un grande lavoro di quattordici volumi, che comprende i sei romanzi delle "Cronache di Laymond". Quest'ultima è stata scritta prima della serie di Niccolò, ma avviene cronologicamente più tardi, raccontando la storia dei discendenti dei personaggi della prima serie, nel secolo successivo. Ci sono differenze significative nella approccio narrativo e lo stile di scrittura tra le serie, che riflette in parte il diverso cammino personale presa dal personaggio centrale in ciascun libro.
Il personaggio di Niccolò, o Claes, è un apprendista di diciotto anni sempre allegro, nativo di Dyer, di sfortunata nascita, è stato accolto da parenti di sua madre dopo la sua morte; ben presto diventa evidente che Claes, è un eclettico e poliglotta, e si sta trasformando in un grande leader e giocatore di grandi giochi. Ama creare e risolvere i puzzle di ogni genere, è bravissimo con la matematica, e si applica a imparare tutto il possibile (lingue, ingegneria, comabttimenti, costumi di corte, filosofia), sia per scopi pratici che per il bene di apprendimento. Da apprendista, salirà la scala gerarchica a commerciante, poi banchiere, maestro di guerra, e infine consigliere di re. Nicholas ritiene di essere il figlio legittimo del bel Simon de St. Pol di Kilmirren, un signore scozzese, campione di giostre medievali e commerciante. Simon nega, sostenendo che Claes è un bastardo nato dalla sua prima moglie. Il desiderio di Nicholas per l'accettazione del riconoscimento paterno guideranno gran parte della serie.
La trama in sintesi (anche se è molto complessa) di questo primo libro: il libro si svolge in gran parte nelle Fiandre, in Borgogna e in Italia nel 1460. Il lettore viene introdotto in un mondo molto diverso eppure sottilmente simile ai giorni nostri. Le ambizioni di classe, i giudizi realizzati sulla base delle linee di sangue, le barriere tra le famiglie nobili e quelle della borghesia nascente e quelle dei poveri considerati inferiori sono insuperabili. Ma sono tempi propizi per i giovani decisi a far fortuna e Claes - o Nicolas, o Niccolò: ogni nome segna una tappa del suo destino - , apprendista tintore di oscuri natali, è uno di loro. Il giovane si mescola all'umanità sulla quale vuole emergere, gareggiando in astuzia con i mercanti e in spregiudicatezza con i mercenari e le spie. Dalla sua ha la bellezza, l'intelligenza, il potere di toccare il cuore delle donne e soprattutto, il fuoco inestinguibile dell'ambizione di primeggiare in un mondo che gli si offre come un frutto maturo.
I libri della saga di Niccolò, uno più bello dell'altro, per chi ama i libri storici questo ciclo dovrebbe essere un must da avere senza ma e senza se. L'autrice è bravissima nel descrivere vita, luoghi, personaggi, trame complesse nel rinascimento dove colloca tutti i suoi personaggi. La scrittura è opulenta di descrizioni, sembra quasi pennellare un affresco storico che più lo osservi e impari a conoscerlo più vieni trascinato dentro di esso. I personaggi sono complessi, ambigui e si muovono perfettamente nell'insieme del libro. Conoscerete anche voi Claes, umile apprendista, diventare mercante, mercenario, avventuriero... meraviglioso.
Appassionante. La prima parola che mi viene in mente quando penso a questa serie di libri stupendi. Iniziata la lettura non riuscirete a staccarvi facilmente, consigliato a tutti ma specialmente a chi ama le ambientazioni storiche.
Uno straordinario affresco storico.
April 21, 2020
‘It all began, mildly enough …’
Three men, drifting in the Duke of Burgundy’s bath. Meet Claes, Julius and Felix. Welcome to 15th century Bruges, to a world on the brink of change:
‘From Venice to Cathay, from Seville to the Gold Coast of Africa, men anchored their ships and opened their ledgers and weighed one thing against another as if nothing would change.’
What can I tell you about this novel, without spoiling the beginning of a magnificent eight volume series? Who is Niccolò? The story builds slowly, with action aplenty, to keep the reader turning the pages and (frequently) confused. Confused? Well, you need to read slowly to try to keep track of each of the different threads and to try to sift important plot points from red herrings. And along the way you will learn about trade, about mercenary armies, and about politics.
You will meet some fascinating characters (and wonder how some of them survive, while other do not).
Ms Dunnett’s novels are complex and multi-layered. They reward careful reading and rereading. Rereading? Yes, Ms Dunnett’s novels are amongst the few I reread regularly. And each time I read; I discover new detail. There is a wealth of detail to explore, relationships to puzzle over, decisions to question. Who is Niccolò? Who is this man of many names and talents, this enigma?
I love these novels. If you’ve not yet read Ms Dunnett’s novels and you enjoy lively well-written historical fiction, this series (The House of Niccolò) may appeal. This is the order of the eight books:
Niccolò Rising
The Spring of the Lamb
Race of Scorpions
Scales of Gold
The Unicorn Hunt
To Lie with Lions
Caprice and Rondo
Gemini
I strongly recommend reading them in order.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Three men, drifting in the Duke of Burgundy’s bath. Meet Claes, Julius and Felix. Welcome to 15th century Bruges, to a world on the brink of change:
‘From Venice to Cathay, from Seville to the Gold Coast of Africa, men anchored their ships and opened their ledgers and weighed one thing against another as if nothing would change.’
What can I tell you about this novel, without spoiling the beginning of a magnificent eight volume series? Who is Niccolò? The story builds slowly, with action aplenty, to keep the reader turning the pages and (frequently) confused. Confused? Well, you need to read slowly to try to keep track of each of the different threads and to try to sift important plot points from red herrings. And along the way you will learn about trade, about mercenary armies, and about politics.
You will meet some fascinating characters (and wonder how some of them survive, while other do not).
Ms Dunnett’s novels are complex and multi-layered. They reward careful reading and rereading. Rereading? Yes, Ms Dunnett’s novels are amongst the few I reread regularly. And each time I read; I discover new detail. There is a wealth of detail to explore, relationships to puzzle over, decisions to question. Who is Niccolò? Who is this man of many names and talents, this enigma?
I love these novels. If you’ve not yet read Ms Dunnett’s novels and you enjoy lively well-written historical fiction, this series (The House of Niccolò) may appeal. This is the order of the eight books:
Niccolò Rising
The Spring of the Lamb
Race of Scorpions
Scales of Gold
The Unicorn Hunt
To Lie with Lions
Caprice and Rondo
Gemini
I strongly recommend reading them in order.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
November 10, 2012
Thoroughly enjoy this book despite a rather slow beginning. Perhaps slow only because I just finished the last of the Lymond Chronicles, and I'm "still living in the world of the last book" which was not the least bit slow! Here we find our hero, Claes, appears to be a clumsy, slow-witted dyer's apprentice who is constantly in trouble, not always of his own making. He has been with the Widow de Charetty's family since he was 10, as servant to her son, Felix. We learn Claes is actually exceptionally gifted in mathematics and organizational skills and with the widow's approval makes changes that benefit the company financially. A war is fought. New contracts are let. A marriage occurs. A heritage is learned. An heir is lost. Claes uses his full name, Nicholas. His dealings with Italy he becomes known as Niccolo. A devastating fire causes havoc. Someone wants Nicholas dead.
This is an exciting read. Instead of flying over rooftops in Blois like Lymond, this hero flies the trade and banking routes around Europe on behalf of his company. Travel with him, on one escapade after another. You can't wait for the next installment!
This is an exciting read. Instead of flying over rooftops in Blois like Lymond, this hero flies the trade and banking routes around Europe on behalf of his company. Travel with him, on one escapade after another. You can't wait for the next installment!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 436 reviews