ABOUT THE BOOK
From the author of The Jade Lily comes a thrilling modern-day treasure hunt brimming with family secrets.
From the author of The Jade Lily comes a thrilling modern-day treasure hunt brimming with family secrets.
Why would someone bury a bucket of precious jewels and gemstones and never return?
In the summer of 1912, a workman's pickaxe strikes through the basement floor
of an old tenement house in Cheapside, London, uncovering a cache of
unimaginably valuable treasure that quickly disappears again.
Present day. When respected jewellery historian, Kate Kirby, receives a call
about the Cheapside jewels, she knows she's on the brink of the experience of a
lifetime.
As Kate peels back the layers of London's stories of plague, fire and political
turmoil, she is forced to explore long-buried family secrets. Secrets
concerning Essie, her great-grandmother, and her life in Edwardian London.
Soon, Kate's past and present threaten to collide and the truths about her
family lie waiting to be revealed.
Inspired by a true story, The Lost Jewels unfolds an incredible story
of mystery, thievery, sacrifice and hope through the generations of one family.
MY THOUGHTS
I was already familiar with the Cheapside Hoard, and had
even seen the jewels in person at an exhibition some years ago. In 1912, a pile
of jewels is found buried in the cellar of an old house that’s being excavated.
The jewels are hundreds of years old. How did they get there? Who owns them?
What is their origin? How’s that for a mystery to try and solve?!
In THE LOST JEWELS, Manning weaves a fictional story around
the few known facts about the jewels. The story moves between the present day
to the time of their discovery in 1912 and all the way back to the mid 17th
century when some of the jewels are first mined.
I found the story to be highly engaging as mysteries are solved
and present day connections to the jewels are revealed.
The Cheapside Hoard is still a mystery in many ways, and
Manning doesn’t attempt to answer all the questions. What she does achieve is a
credible and entertaining story that will please readers of historical fiction.
Additionally, there’s a great list of further reading for those us whose
imagination has been fired up after reading this book.
THE LOST JEWELS is the first Kirsty Manning I’ve read, and
it certainly won’t be the last.
Review copy courtesy of Allen & Unwin, Australia
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kirsty Manning is the bestselling author of The
Midsummer Garden and The Jade Lily (published in North America
and UK as The Song of the Jade Lily). Her historical novels have been
published in Australia and New Zealand, North America, UK, South Africa and
translated into several languages including German, Dutch, Hebrew and Serbian.
Kirsty grew up in northern New South Wales, Australia and
has degrees in literature and communications. A country girl with wanderlust,
her travels and studies have taken her around the globe.
Kirsty lives in Melbourne. Together with her husband she is
a partner in the award-winning Melbourne wine bar Bellota and the Prince Wine Store in Melbourne
and Sydney.
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