Scales of Gold

The exquisitely-researched standalone prequel series to Dorothy Dunnett's revered Lymond Chronicles, following the ancestors of Francis Crawford of Lymond in Continental Europe.

Scales of Gold is Book Four in The House of Niccolo series.
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'You know what is drawing him? He is going to the market no white men attend. He is going to sail up the River of Gold.'

In the Spring of 1464 Nicholas vander Poele returns to Venice in time to witness a plot to wipe out Casa de Niccolo - his own bank. Near-ruined, he secures a ship, a crew and sails for the one place he is confident none of his rivals would dare follow - Africa.
Yet Nicholas is disconcerted to find he is racing against another vessel as they head for the fabled lands of Prester John and his fountains of gold, where strangers and plunderers alike are treated with suspicion.
But nothing will turn Nicholas away from the glittering prize he seeks - Timbuktu, the legendary city by the desert edge . . .
'A glorious panorama of medieval times. The historical research is impeccable' Sunday Express