{"product_id":"these-wicked-devices-an-extraordinary-literary-historical-novel-perfect-for-fans-of-hilary-mantel-or-sarah-perry-1","title":"These Wicked Devices by Matthew Plampin (Paperback)","description":"\u003cp\u003eTHE HOLY CITY IS NO PLACE FOR MERCY\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Matthew Plampin should rank with the best' Sunday Times\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Plampin is heartbreakingly good' The Times\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Gripping, immersive, at times very funny and beautifully written, this is historical fiction of the highest quality' Elizabeth Fremantle\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRome, 1650.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe streets are teeming as thousands of pilgrims flood in for the Holy Jubilee, but behind the gilded façade of the Vatican, power is unravelling.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDonna Olimpia Maidalchini has long kept Pope Innocent X under her thumb, but as loyalties shift, her enemies close in. And her most dangerous opponents may be those she deems too weak to matter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwo destitute nuns arrive, fleeing the ruined city of Castro and each carrying secrets that could destroy them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeanwhile, the assistant to the famed Spanish artist Diego Velázquez is drawn into a perilous conspiracy – one that could bring Italy to its knees, and against which his own desperate ambitions seem to count for nothing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs the sweltering summer heat rises, survival, not salvation, becomes the ultimate goal – and in this world of sin, saints almost never survive.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somiibooks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53710640218455,"sku":"9780008163686","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0799\/4569\/5575\/files\/9780008163686.jpg?v=1780603819","url":"https:\/\/somiibooks.com\/products\/these-wicked-devices-an-extraordinary-literary-historical-novel-perfect-for-fans-of-hilary-mantel-or-sarah-perry-1","provider":"Somiibooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}