SHADOW OF THE DOME
An age of empires and betrothals…
Kokachin is a Mongolian princess, living with her mother and brother at the court of Kublai Khan in China. Her best friends are Tarkhan, the son of the household cook, and a displaced Chinese princess named Mei Lien. Kokachin is active and adventurous, and chafes at being an idle princess.
Nergui is an orphan. She learns early in life that she has to take care of herself. Clever and capable, she is found in the kitchens by Hulan, who takes her into her home. Hulan plans to marry Nergui to her son Sacha but Nergui is not keen on the idea, as Sacha is lacking in ambition. She starts to make other plans.
As the il Khan of Persia’s wife is dying, she begs him to take another wife from Mongolia, her homeland. A scouting party is sent, and Kokachin is chosen to be his bride. The famous Marco Polo is tasked with delivering the bride to the il Khan. The voyage across the South China Sea will take more than a year, and Kokachin knows she will never see her home or her mother again. However she is not alone; Mei Lien and Negui travel with her. But the journey is perilous – will they all survive?
Based on true events in the thirteenth century, Shadow of the Dome is a tale of friendship, duty and destiny that will have readers captivated from the very start.
Reviews:
“Much more than a historical travelogue, the story has a captivating plot… I enjoyed the novel, as images of 13th-century Mongolian cities and those along the South China Sea and Indian Ocean played in my mind. Highly recommended.” (Historical Novel Society)
“Attention to historical detail is clearly evident in this stylish tale of friendship, duty and destiny.
A brilliant first novel and I very much look forward to the next one.” (Goodreads)
“I bought this book as a holiday read, started it on the plane and didn’t want to put it down when we landed! It combined history, travel and very different social customs experienced by the women of the court, giving me a real feel of a time and place I had never known before and what it may have been like to live in such times.” (Amazon)
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