The Apothecary’s Daughter

ISBN 978-1-874915-18-8

• Longlisted: The Sunday Times Fiction Award 2005

A nobleman and his wife, an apothecary nun, an astronomer-mathematician, an inquisitor, a poet who is both lover and villain, a portraitist, a queen and loyal servants deftly act out a beautiful drama of tantalizing relationships.

A richly romantic tale of sexual awakening, love and betrayal

~ JM Coetzee, 2003 Nobel Laureate for literature

They take up their roles in castle and convent, some surrounded by ornate interiors, garbed in velvets and silks, garlanded with precious jewels; while others abide in simple space devoid of art or representation, and dressed in plain linens and dull calicos. This is a wondrous tale, rendered in erotic prose and poetry, stitched through with rich imagery, humour and tenderness. It is also a story of trade and exotic travel, both across the surface of the earth and among the stars.