Pandora
The #1 Sunday Times bestselling historical novel set in Georgian London inspired by Greek mythology.
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4.1 • 69 Ratings
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
Dora Blake’s life has been confined to her family's antiquities shop in Georgian London until a mysterious Greek treasure threatens to expose deadly secrets.
When an unusual ancient Greek vase arrives at her overbearing uncle’s antiquities business, Dora joins forces with Edward Lawrence, a young antiquarian scholar to investigate it. Together, they uncover family secrets that have Dora questioning everything she has believed about her life and the world as she knows it.
Blending Georgian historical fiction with Gothic mystery and the myth of Pandora's box, Pandora unfolds across winter streets, docklands, and Mayfair drawing rooms as Dora fights to reclaim her future.
'A gripping narrative in which secrets from the past are slowly and ingeniously revealed' Sunday Times
'Romantic, suspenseful and beautifully written... a glorious treat' Daily Mail
'Weaves together Ancient Greek myth with suspenseful mystery and beguiling romance...utterly irresistible' Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne
'An immersive, evocative story full of romance and intrigue' Red
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
A true page-turner, Susan Stokes-Chapman’s debut novel combines mystery, myth and an engrossing portrayal of Georgian London, plus a shot of romance. Its heroine—orphaned young and raised in her family’s antiquities shop by an uncle who treats her as a nuisance, at best—has an ambition, frustrated though it may be, to forge a career as a jewellery designer. This, she hopes, will allow her to support herself. But when her uncle acquires an intriguing, perhaps even powerful artefact and insists on hiding it from her, it becomes clear that he has long been keeping secrets. The intrigue rises as she pursues answers with the help of a young man who has his own interest in the artefact, and the story is skilfully inflected with the myth of Pandora, with whom she shares her name. In the company of a protagonist who is allowed to be both vulnerable and formidable, we were rapt.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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.
Customer Reviews
Fascinating historical fiction
I really enjoyed this book, it incorporates several strands I appreciate; authentic historical setting, mystery and a brilliant dose of Greek mythology. There’s a satisfying mix of historical detail and fiction, interesting characters and a smattering of supernatural mystery. I loved the character of Dora and her magpie Hermes, searching for answers and the way her future develops. I would have liked more at the end about the future outcomes, but overall, a satisfying story.
Atmospheric
This book was not my usual reading fare and I do find books written in the third person rather distancing. However as this paperback was a birthday gift I preserved and eventually became sucked into the story. Set in the Georgian period and mostly based in the poorer parts of London, where some of the smells described were exceedingly graphic, this was an interesting novel involving antiquities, myth, murder and greed.
Pandora and The Shadow key
Brilliant author - I really loved both of these books.
Now I’m upset, as it looks like Susan Stokes-Chapman hasn’t written any more.