Publisher's Synopsis
A nobleman and his wife, an apothecary nun, an astronomer-mathematician, an inquisitor, a poet, a portraitist, a queen and loyal servants act out a drama of tantalizing relationships. They take up their roles in castle and convent; some are surrounded by ornate interiors, garbed in velvets and silks, while others abide in simple space, dressed in plain linens and dull calicos...This is a wondrous tale, rendered in beautiful and erotic prose and poetry. A story of inquisition, book burning, persecution and intolerance of new knowledge, it also depicts trade and exotic travel, both across the earth and among the stars.
