Pandora
The instant no.1 Sunday Times bestseller
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4.1 • 52 Ratings
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
Lose yourself to the mystery and romance of Susan Stokes-Chapman's no.1 bestselling novel, which brings Greek myth to Georgian London.
'A gripping narrative in which secrets from the past are slowly and ingeniously revealed' Sunday Times
'Romantic, suspenseful and beautifully written... a glorious treat' Daily Mail
Some doors are kept locked for a reason...
London, 1799. Dora Blake lives with her uncle in what used to be her parents' famed shop of antiquities.
When a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, Dora is intrigued by her uncle's suspicious behaviour and enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a young antiquarian scholar. For Edward, the ancient vase is the key to unlocking his professional future. For Dora, it's a chance to restore the shop to its former glory, and to escape her nefarious uncle.
But what Edward discovers about the vase has Dora questioning everything she has believed about her life, her family, and the world as she knows it...
'Weaves together Ancient Greek myth with suspenseful mystery and beguiling romance...utterly irresistible' Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne
'An immersive, evocative story full of romance and intrigue' Red
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE GOLDSBORO GLASS BELL AWARD, 2023*
Readers love Pandora:
'So addictive... the perfect mix of historical fiction, mystery, fantasy and romance'
'Wonderfully atmospheric'
'A beautifully written piece of historical fiction'
'Crackles with danger and mystery... a joy to read'
'An utterly magical book full of secrets, love and hope'
'Beautifully written, gripping and evocative'
*Susan Stokes-Chapman's new novel THE SHADOW KEY is available for pre-order now. Delve into the mysteries that haunt an isolated village in Georgian Wales. Out in April 2024.*
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
A true page-turner, Susan Stokes-Chapman’s debut novel combines mystery, myth and an engrossing portrayal of Georgian London, plus a shot of romance. Its heroine—orphaned young and raised in her family’s antiquities shop by an uncle who treats her as a nuisance, at best—has an ambition, frustrated though it may be, to forge a career as a jewellery designer. This, she hopes, will allow her to support herself. But when her uncle acquires an intriguing, perhaps even powerful artefact and insists on hiding it from her, it becomes clear that he has long been keeping secrets. The intrigue rises as she pursues answers with the help of a young man who has his own interest in the artefact, and the story is skilfully inflected with the myth of Pandora, with whom she shares her name. In the company of a protagonist who is allowed to be both vulnerable and formidable, we were rapt.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Stokes-Chapman's debut transports readers to late-18th-century England for a story laced with Greek mythology and superstition. Pandora "Dora" Blake should have inherited her parents' Emporium for Exotic Antiquities when they died, but because she was only a child, her uncle took over instead. He destroys the good name of the Blake shop along with any hope that Dora will follow in her parents' highly educated and accomplished footsteps. As a young woman, Dora dreams of becoming a jewelry designer, and the designs within a suspicious shipment of Greek antiquities for her uncle provide her with just the inspiration she needs. Her quest to know more about the objects puts her in the path of Edward Lawrence, a young antiquarian artist from a difficult background with equally ambitious desires. For a time, they help each other, but as Dora learns that her uncle may be selling antiquities on the black market, she also begins to doubt that Edward has her best interests as heart as he battles demons of his own. Immersive period details and a steadily simmering mystery combine with just a hint of myth and magic to keep the pages flying. Fans of Madeleine Miller's Circe and Natasha Pulley's The Watchmaker of Filigree Street will find plenty to enjoy here.
Customer Reviews
Atmospheric
This book was not my usual reading fare and I do find books written in the third person rather distancing. However as this paperback was a birthday gift I preserved and eventually became sucked into the story. Set in the Georgian period and mostly based in the poorer parts of London, where some of the smells described were exceedingly graphic, this was an interesting novel involving antiquities, myth, murder and greed.
Good read
Did like reading it