#1 Sunday Times Bestseller
A Library Journal Best Book of 2023
"Lush, evocative and utterly irresistible."—Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne
Prepare to lift the lid on a lush reimagination of the mythological Pandora....Susan Stokes-Chapman's atmospheric debut, PANDORA, immerses the reader in the dangerous, mysterious world of ancient antiquities with prose that is elegant and teeming with visceral sensory detail. A marvelous debut—imaginative, ambitious, and begging to be savored."" — Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Apothecary
Steeped in mystery and rich in imagination, an exhilarating historical novel set in Georgian London where the discovery of a mysterious ancient Greek vase sets in motion conspiracies, revelations, and romance.
London, 1799. Dora Blake, an aspiring jewelry artist, lives with her odious uncle atop her late parents' once-famed shop of antiquities. After a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, her uncle begins to act suspiciously, keeping the vase locked in the store's basement, away from prying eyes—including Dora's. Intrigued by her uncle's peculiar behavior, Dora turns to young, ambitious antiquarian scholar Edward Lawrence who eagerly agrees to help. Edward believes the ancient vase is the key that will unlock his academic future; Dora sees it as a chance to establish her own name.
But what Edward discovers about the vase has Dora questioning everything she has believed about her life, her family, and the world as she knows it. As Dora uncovers the truth, she comes to understand that some doors are locked and some mysteries are buried for a reason, while others are closer to the surface than they appear.
A story of myth and mystery, secrets and deception, fate and hope, Pandora is an enchanting work of historical fiction as captivating and evocative as The Song of Achilles, The Essex Serpent, and The Miniaturist.
#1 Sunday Times Bestseller
A Library Journal Best Book of 2023
"Lush, evocative and utterly irresistible."—Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne
Prepare to lift the lid on a lush reimagination of the mythological Pandora....Susan Stokes-Chapman's atmospheric debut, PANDORA, immerses the reader in the dangerous, mysterious world of ancient antiquities with prose that is elegant and teeming with visceral sensory detail. A marvelous debut—imaginative, ambitious, and begging to be savored."" — Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Apothecary
Steeped in mystery and rich in imagination, an exhilarating historical novel set in Georgian London where the discovery of a mysterious ancient Greek vase sets in motion conspiracies, revelations, and romance.
London, 1799. Dora Blake, an aspiring jewelry artist, lives with her odious uncle atop her late parents' once-famed shop of antiquities. After a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, her uncle begins to act suspiciously, keeping the vase locked in the store's basement, away from prying eyes—including Dora's. Intrigued by her uncle's peculiar behavior, Dora turns to young, ambitious antiquarian scholar Edward Lawrence who eagerly agrees to help. Edward believes the ancient vase is the key that will unlock his academic future; Dora sees it as a chance to establish her own name.
But what Edward discovers about the vase has Dora questioning everything she has believed about her life, her family, and the world as she knows it. As Dora uncovers the truth, she comes to understand that some doors are locked and some mysteries are buried for a reason, while others are closer to the surface than they appear.
A story of myth and mystery, secrets and deception, fate and hope, Pandora is an enchanting work of historical fiction as captivating and evocative as The Song of Achilles, The Essex Serpent, and The Miniaturist.
Reviews-
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After a slow start, narrator Olivia Vinall's pleasing voice makes PANDORA an engaging listening experience. When a sealed box is retrieved from deep below the sea, Dora, an aspiring jewelry designer, opens it and becomes fascinated with the ancient Greek vase within, covered with images from the Pandora myth. Her unscrupulous Uncle Hezekiah's antiquities shop is filled with fakes, so Dora turns to Edward, an antiquities scholar, to verify the authenticity of the vase. What they discover comes at a great cost. Susan Stokes-Chapman's writing works too hard to transform a classic myth into an eighteenth-century mystery, but Vinall stretches her range to encompass the numerous characters and abundance of subplots. She provides a serviceable narration for a novel that never quite lives up to its promise. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
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November 14, 2022
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. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Literary.
