The Invention of Fire

The Invention of Fire
Bruce Holsinger

The richly atmospheric new historical thriller featuring John Gower, poet and trader of secrets. Set in the turbulent 14th Century, this is perfect for fans of C. J. Sansom.London, 1386: young King Richard II faces the double threat of a French invasion and growing unrest amongst his barons – and now there's evil afoot in the City. Sixteen corpses have been discovered in a sewer, their wounds like none ever seen before. One thing is clear: whoever threw the bodies into the sewer knew they would be found – and was powerful enough not to care.Enter John Gower, poet and intellectual whose 'peculiar vocation' is dealing in men's secrets. Against the backdrop of medieval London with its grand palaces and churches, dark alleys and mean backstreets, Gower pursues his dangerous quarry. Seeking insights from his friend Geoffrey Chaucer and using his network of contacts, Gower comes to the shocking belief that the men have been killed by a new and deadly weapon of war.Known as 'the handgonne', it would put untold power into the hands of whoever perfected its design. But who has commissioned this weapon? A man who would stop at nothing to achieve his secret goal.

Copyright (#u296e84e2-3c24-5a5f-9ff1-1f4cda7b2e2c)

Harper

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First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2015

Copyright © Bruce Holsinger 2015

Bruce Holsinger asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

Map of London & Southwark © Nicolette Caven 2015

Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers 2015

Lettering by Stephen Raw

Cover images © Shutterstock.com (http://www.Shutterstock.com) (textures)

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

This is entirely a work of fiction. Any references to real people, living or dead, real events, businesses, organizations and localities are intended only to give the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity. All names, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and their resemblance, if any, to real-life counterparts is entirely coincidental.

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Source ISBN: 9780007493364

Ebook Edition © FEBRUARY 2015 ISBN: 9780007493340

Version 2015-05-29

Dedication (#u296e84e2-3c24-5a5f-9ff1-1f4cda7b2e2c)

For Betsy and Bob

And in the autumn of that year, in the village of Desurennes, a company came from the woods with small guns of iron borne in their hands, and laid great waste to the market, to the wares and those who sold them along the walls, and in the eyes of God made wondrous calamity with fire and shot.

Le Troisième Chronique de Calais, entry for year 1386

Table of Contents

Cover (#u50300dc8-84f2-56be-81f2-c7921141833d)

Title Page (#u8c1a9cf3-5244-535e-81aa-ef6320594407)

Copyright (#udbc794e2-65b1-50f6-abd3-c345f31dd8e6)

Dedication (#u8bb19be4-b99c-5e3e-aa7d-3080da86cbce)

Epigraph (#u3d7e83c8-6fb1-5540-869e-0121d396d013)

Map (#u79a25c96-83bb-56df-9bea-730b21aabbc8)

A Note to the Reader (#u1a971e4d-4c7d-5eb5-851b-5c1f4acd8426)

Prologue (#ua236be0a-1f16-5bae-a8ca-11309bd05433)

Part One (#u37cf54a2-c7a2-57f4-b32d-cb22135f863f)

Chapter One (#u2cefa07e-f504-5110-bcdb-77e90f0383cc)

Chapter Two (#ub16ff31a-8dc5-51e2-b8e6-19248d74f60a)

Chapter Three (#u33707036-961b-5e66-a8a3-7a0df57ab29a)

Chapter Four (#u97fb58c4-c5ff-5ef4-bad0-ec4e4f5fc56c)

Chapter Five (#ua95e9388-c0c9-59f3-9136-32ff67bb6fff)

Chapter Six (#u91f3dfb0-b50a-5523-b95b-917b8c914a88)

Chapter Seven (#uc38b7eda-ea97-563f-a6a0-656fb62ed4ab)

Chapter Eight (#u7e70ebd6-bb27-5d0e-98bb-57edc0ac9f12)

Chapter Nine (#u066bd282-b06c-5ba9-b96f-31d2d544af4d)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Part Two (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)