Why a Booktrail?
1358: What really lies behind the mask?
City of Masks: Oswald de Lacy #3
Why a Booktrail?
1358: What really lies behind the mask?
What you need to know before your trail
1358. Oswald de Lacy, Lord Somershill, is in Venice, awaiting to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. While the city is under siege, Oswald is staying with an English merchant, and soon comes under the dangerous spell of the decadent and dazzling island state that sits on the hinge of Europe, where East meets West.
Oswald is trying to flee his past, but when he finds a dead man on the night of the carnival, he is dragged into a murder investigation that takes him deep into the intrigues of this mysterious, paranoid city. Then there is the feared Signori di Notte, the secret police, and Oswald learns that he is not the only one with something to hide.
The masks are not just for the carnival.
Travel Guide
Venice
You don’t have to venture far to find the medieval city of Venice as Oswald would have found it back in the 14th century. This is the city of twisted alley ways and cobbled streets, the stench of the waterways and the shadows of the large buildings. Not to mention the glistening facade of the rich buildings where the shadows behind tell quite a different story. What about John Bearpark, who has made a fortune trading with the Venetians, but who can’t seem to crack the inner circle of the city’s nobility. He is of foreign birth and this is not a city nor a society which will forgive let alone forget that
There are many pilgrims in the city – Bernard and Margery Jagger for example spend their time visiting shrines and experiencing the religious offerings of Venice. This is also the time of Carnevale – a festival with huge significance for the city and its people
Doge’s Palace
This is a building with secrets – in plain sight and underground. The tunnels underneath here play a part in the mystery and it’s a stunning place to visit now as it must have been then!
Eating in Venice
You will find something a lot more tasty than the meal described in the book, a boring meal which is described as “moving a supper of grey liver and sodden onions about the plate for a respectable period of time’.
Carnevale
This takes place during the winter months (usually Jan and Feb) and during this time, the city fills with a mass of masked party-goers – posing and preening, dancing and philandering, in a slightly surreal re-invention of a great tradition of the city.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: City of Masks: Oswald de Lacy #3
Author/Guide S D Sykes Destination: Venice Departure Time: 1358
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