New York Times bestselling novelist Anne Perry, the
undisputed Queen of Victorian mysteries and the author of an
acclaimed series set during World War I, now broadens her
canvas with her first major stand-alone book—an epic
historical novel set in thirteenth-century Constantinople,
where a woman must live a lie in her quest to uncover the
truth.
Arriving in the ancient Byzantine city in
the year 1273, Anna Zarides has only one mission: to prove
the innocence of her twin brother, Justinian, who has been
exiled to the desert for conspiring to kill Bessarion, a
nobleman. Disguising herself as a eunuch named
Anastasius, Anna moves freely about in society, using her
skills as a physician to manoeuver close to the key players
involved in her brother’s fate. With her medical practice
thriving, Anna crosses paths with Zoe Chrysaphes, a devious
noblewoman with her own hidden agenda, and Giuiliano
Dandolo, a ship’s captain conflicted not only by his mixed
Venetian-Byzantine heritage but by his growing feelings for
Anastasius.
Trying to clear her brother’s name, Anna
learns more about Justinian’s life and reputation—including
his peculiar ties to Bessarion’s beautiful widow and his
possible role in a plot to overthrow the emperor. This
leaves Anna with more questions than answer, and time is
running out. For an even greater threat lies on the horizon:
Another Crusade to capture the Holy Land is brewing, and
leaders in Rome and Venice have set their sights on
Constantinople for what is sure to be a brutal invasion.
Anna’s discoveries draw her inextricably closer to the
dangers of the emperor’s treacherous court—where it seems
that no one is exactly who he or she appears to
be.
Richly detailed and finely wrought, The
Sheen on the Silk is a bold and brilliant work that
affirms Anne Perry’s talent as a master storyteller.