Pandora

November 14, 2022
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. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Literary.

Starred review from December 1, 2022

DEBUT After her parents' death in a cave-in while searching for antiquities, Dora Blake becomes her uncle's ward and employee at Blake's Emporium, where they sell trinkets of all sorts (some true antiquities, and some blatant forgeries). When Dora discovers she has a talent for creating unique and lovely pieces of jewelry, she catches the eye of a socialite and is launched into the realm of the upper crust of 1799 London. But her uncle is a cruel man and determined to keep her under his thumb and reap the benefit of her talent. Curiously, the only real treasure in the emporium is a vase that her parents had unearthed before their untimely death--a vase that appears to have supernatural powers. Is it possible that her parents were correct, and this ancient hidden article was the original Pandora's Box? VERDICT Twisted characters, plots and counterplots, a magpie that seems to be more than a mere bird--all of these elements comprise a novel that will draw in readers and, quite possibly, keep them up late into the night to see what the next chapter brings.--Jane Henriksen Baird

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December 1, 2022
In London in 1799, Pandora ""Dora"" Blake helps run her uncle Hezekiah's antiquities shop. It was run by her parents before their deaths and had a sterling reputation, but now the shop is full of forgeries. Hezekiah is unusually cagey about his newest acquisition, which he squirrels away to the basement. But Dora needs inspiration for her jewelry designs, so she sneaks down and discovers a pithos, a large Greek vase that looks like the real thing. Aspiring antiquarian Edward Lawrence is drawn to Dora and her frankness. He, along with his friend and benefactor Cornelius Ashmole, run a test to date the vase, but it appears to predate history, despite being in pristine condition. Meanwhile, Hezekiah and the men who retrieved the vase from the bottom of the sea are suffering strange maladies and wounds that weep and won't heal. Stokes-Chapman immerses the reader in late-eighteenth-century London, and Dora is a character to root for as she seeks independence from her uncle. This moody debut will appeal to fans of The Essex Serpent and The Miniaturist.

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