The Glass Armonica

About this book

18th century London is a small town that has exploded into a world city, suddenly capital of a vast empire but one run by a small number of rich and powerful people who all know each other. Theatres, coffee-houses, clubs and the political arena are the elegant face behind which hides a seamier world of corruption, intrigue and rumbustious sexuality. Samuel Johnson, Benjamin Franklin and the Chevalier d’Eon ricochet off each other in an entangled history that decides the independence of the American colonies. But even deeper forces are at play – ghosts, slaves and the very legitimacy of the British Crown.