The Jewels of Paradise

New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2012. An As New copy with an As New dustjacket which is not price clipped. First Edition, First Printing. 244 pages. Caterina Pellegrini is a native Venetian, and like many of them, she's had to leave home to pursue a career abroad. A musicologist with a degree in Baroque opera. She jumps at a chance to return home for an unusual job. After nearly three centuries, two locked trunks believed to contain the papers of a once-famous Italian Baroque composer have been discovered. He was well connected, a bishop in the church, a friend to leading thinkers, and a trusted ambassador to German rulers. He was also mixed up in the Konigsmarck Affair of 1694, a notorious scandal in which a count, the lover of the beautiful Sophia Dorothea, wife of the future King George I of England, disappeared in the middle of the night never to be found. Descendants of the composer's cousins each claim the inheritance and Caterina has been hired to attend the opening of the trunks and to examine the papers to discover the testamentary disposition of the composer. But when her research takes her in unexpected directions and something unfolds on a quiet Venetian street, she begins to wonder what secrets these trunks may hold. A gripping tale of intrigue, music history and greed. L. First. Hard Cover. As New/As New. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.