Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Minotaur Books (2009), Edition: 1, 336 pages
Description
In Potosí, the richest city in the Western Hemisphere, Inez de la Morada, the bewitching, cherished daughter of the rich and powerful Mayor, mysteriously dies at the convent of Santa Isabella de los Santos Milagros, where she had fled in defiance of her father. It looks as though the girl committed suicide, but Mother Abbess Maria Santa Hilda believes her innocent and has her buried at the convent in sacred ground. Fray Ubaldo DaTriesta, local Commissioner of the Inquisition, has been keeping an eye on the Abbess, who is too “Protestant” for his tastes, and this action may be just what he needs to convince the lazy, cowardly Bishop to punish her. At the same time, Potosí finds its prosperity threatened. The King of Spain has discovered that the coins the city has been circulating throughout the world are not pure silver and is sending his top prosecutor and the Grand Inquisitor to mete out punishment. With the imminent arrival of the Spanish officials, many have reason to prove their loyalty, and keep hidden the crimes and sins they’ve committed. With her life at stake, Maria Santa Hilda finds herself in a race against time to prove the true cause of Inez’s death, aided by her fellow sisters, a Jesuit priest with a dark secret from his past, and a tomboyish girl who’s run to the convent to avoid an unwanted marriage. Together they will discover that Inez was not the girl she seemed, and that greed has no limits. Annamaria Alfieri writes with astounding detail, showing an appreciation for the complexities and social nuances of this intriguing time in Latin American history when politicians, religious leaders, and an indigenous people all competed for power and survival in the thin mountain air of the Andes.… (more)
Language
Original publication date
2009
User reviews
LibraryThing member corglacier7
Riches always come with a cost and so many a story of a mining boomtown
is filled with crime, greed, harsh conditions, and the inevitable bust
once the treasure is mined out.
And so we find ourselves living the story of a mining town, but not on
the Western frontier. “City of Silver” takes readers
century setting of Peru under the heavy hand of Spanish rule. Potosi,
now in modern-day Bolivia, was once the richest city in the New World
due to its silver mines, a fabulous source of wealth giving rise to the
wishful dubbing of subsequent American mining towns by the same name.
Racial tensions between the Spanish and the natives simmer hot and the
Protestant reformation threatens Catholic strength. Besides that,
alarming rumors of counterfeit coins, thus violating confidence in
Potosi’s wealth and threatening Spain’s economic power, cause further
unrest in the city. The King of Spain, in fact, is so disturbed at the
news that he’s sending a Grand Inquisitor to investigate, striking fear
into both loyal citizens and criminals alike. And then Mother Maria
Santa Hilda, Abbess of the local convent, opens her door to Inez Rojas
de la Morada, daughter of one of the town’s most powerful men. Inez
refuses to speak of her reasons for seeking sanctuary, and shortly after
Maria Santa Hilda finds her dead, in a locked room: suicide or murder?
Uncovering old secrets and the dark side of Potosi’s fabulous wealth is
a dangerous proposition—some things are easier left buried. The mystery
of Inez’s death and life plays out against the mystery of the
counterfeit coins, the two stories neatly intersecting as Maria Santa
Hilda stubbornly pursues her inquiry with the gumption of a true PI,
though her duty to her order and her bishop frequently wars with her
duty to the truth. Skillful incorporation of the religious, sexual,
racial, and political aspects of life—and for the non-Spanish, non-male,
non-Catholic, or non-wealthy, they could be pretty grim—at that time
give “City of Silver” an authentic historical feel, and the unusual
period setting gives this mystery a distinction all its own. Life in the
rarified air of the Andes four hundred years ago may have been quite
different, but we see that greed and murder, and thus human nature,
rarely change.
is filled with crime, greed, harsh conditions, and the inevitable bust
once the treasure is mined out.
And so we find ourselves living the story of a mining town, but not on
the Western frontier. “City of Silver” takes readers
Show More
to the seventeenthcentury setting of Peru under the heavy hand of Spanish rule. Potosi,
now in modern-day Bolivia, was once the richest city in the New World
due to its silver mines, a fabulous source of wealth giving rise to the
wishful dubbing of subsequent American mining towns by the same name.
Racial tensions between the Spanish and the natives simmer hot and the
Protestant reformation threatens Catholic strength. Besides that,
alarming rumors of counterfeit coins, thus violating confidence in
Potosi’s wealth and threatening Spain’s economic power, cause further
unrest in the city. The King of Spain, in fact, is so disturbed at the
news that he’s sending a Grand Inquisitor to investigate, striking fear
into both loyal citizens and criminals alike. And then Mother Maria
Santa Hilda, Abbess of the local convent, opens her door to Inez Rojas
de la Morada, daughter of one of the town’s most powerful men. Inez
refuses to speak of her reasons for seeking sanctuary, and shortly after
Maria Santa Hilda finds her dead, in a locked room: suicide or murder?
Uncovering old secrets and the dark side of Potosi’s fabulous wealth is
a dangerous proposition—some things are easier left buried. The mystery
of Inez’s death and life plays out against the mystery of the
counterfeit coins, the two stories neatly intersecting as Maria Santa
Hilda stubbornly pursues her inquiry with the gumption of a true PI,
though her duty to her order and her bishop frequently wars with her
duty to the truth. Skillful incorporation of the religious, sexual,
racial, and political aspects of life—and for the non-Spanish, non-male,
non-Catholic, or non-wealthy, they could be pretty grim—at that time
give “City of Silver” an authentic historical feel, and the unusual
period setting gives this mystery a distinction all its own. Life in the
rarified air of the Andes four hundred years ago may have been quite
different, but we see that greed and murder, and thus human nature,
rarely change.
Show Less
LibraryThing member richardderus
An historical mystery set in seventeenth-century Peru, certainly an unusual choice for an author, was completely irresistible to me the day I stumbled across it in the liberry.
Sadly, I ended the 315-page read wishing I'd resisted. It's not a bad book, really, but it's ponderous. The pacing problem
I found the characters in the book hard to get into, feeling little kinship with the POV Sister Maria Santa Hilda and less with her fellow Spanish Potosinos. Simply couldn't be bothered to learn their names, even...I gave them letters in my head, and after "F" gave up entirely...but gravy on toast, lady, could you have found a glummer, less scintillating group of people to write about?!
Overall not recommended.
Sadly, I ended the 315-page read wishing I'd resisted. It's not a bad book, really, but it's ponderous. The pacing problem
Show More
that plagues many an historical mystery was amply demonstrated here...murders happened, but seemingly without emotional affect or effect. It's startling to me that the murder of a young woman in a convent could elicit such a small response from me. I was more moved by the death of a miner.I found the characters in the book hard to get into, feeling little kinship with the POV Sister Maria Santa Hilda and less with her fellow Spanish Potosinos. Simply couldn't be bothered to learn their names, even...I gave them letters in my head, and after "F" gave up entirely...but gravy on toast, lady, could you have found a glummer, less scintillating group of people to write about?!
Overall not recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member wortklauberlein
The Washington Post's positive review, not the merits of the book itself, kept me reading this attractively presented but ultimately vapid mystery. After much hand-wringing and vague allusions to their personal misdeeds by several of the main characters and much posturing by the rest, we finally
Show More
arrive at what might be a satisfying conclusion, in which some of the characters finally acquire some personality, only to have the denouement cut short. Rather than detail the evidence presented to the Inquisitor and the closed-door conversation between king's envoy and Inquisitor, the author kisses them off with a couple of bland sentences. Highly disappointing. Show Less
LibraryThing member PennyMck
a fascinating look at Potosi during the Spanish conquest - lust for gold, Inquisition, honest nuns and priests - well written with well-developed characters
LibraryThing member JGolomb
"Potosi had a Spanish soul: proud, greedy, cruel, and noble. It had beauty. Grandeur. Chaos."
Potosi is the location of Alfieri's terrific historical mystery, "City of Silver". This murder mystery is set in 1650 in the then Peruvian city nestled against a silver-rich mountain that made the city one
The story revolves around the discovery of girl found dead in a room of a convent. She's naked, the door is locked, there's no other entrance, and no apparent cause of death. Threaded through this mystery is the arrival of the King's emissary investigating whether the coinage produced at Potosi is being blended with lesser metals. Not only could this spell financial disaster for the Potosi community, but the church's representative of the Inquisition in New Spain is arriving as well.
While things may seem a bit melodramatic, the story pulls together very very well. Alfieri's world is vividly reproduced, and maintains a genuinely New World feel. She absolutely nails the tone and voice of the era. There are shades of Gary Jennings' New World in Alfier's Potosi, and the characters are strongly built, but not as boldly as Jennings' worlds of the Aztec.
The characters are strong and familiar. Padre Junipero and Abbess Maria are both bastions of the religious communities in Potosi, but have deep seated dark secrets that led them to the Church and led them to this city far from their homes in native Spain. The local representative of the church's Inquisition is full of bile and takes irredeemable joy in sending sinners to the auto de fe. Cliched, perhaps, but the character development moves at an appropriate pace and, with only one exception, did I find their back stories conclude less dramatically than foreshadowed.
I have no reservations in recommending this read to fans of both historical fiction and historical mysteries.
Potosi is the location of Alfieri's terrific historical mystery, "City of Silver". This murder mystery is set in 1650 in the then Peruvian city nestled against a silver-rich mountain that made the city one
Show More
of the wealthiest places in not only the new world, but the entire world. The story revolves around the discovery of girl found dead in a room of a convent. She's naked, the door is locked, there's no other entrance, and no apparent cause of death. Threaded through this mystery is the arrival of the King's emissary investigating whether the coinage produced at Potosi is being blended with lesser metals. Not only could this spell financial disaster for the Potosi community, but the church's representative of the Inquisition in New Spain is arriving as well.
While things may seem a bit melodramatic, the story pulls together very very well. Alfieri's world is vividly reproduced, and maintains a genuinely New World feel. She absolutely nails the tone and voice of the era. There are shades of Gary Jennings' New World in Alfier's Potosi, and the characters are strongly built, but not as boldly as Jennings' worlds of the Aztec.
The characters are strong and familiar. Padre Junipero and Abbess Maria are both bastions of the religious communities in Potosi, but have deep seated dark secrets that led them to the Church and led them to this city far from their homes in native Spain. The local representative of the church's Inquisition is full of bile and takes irredeemable joy in sending sinners to the auto de fe. Cliched, perhaps, but the character development moves at an appropriate pace and, with only one exception, did I find their back stories conclude less dramatically than foreshadowed.
I have no reservations in recommending this read to fans of both historical fiction and historical mysteries.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ffortsa
It took me a while to get into this historical mystery, set in Potosi, Peru during the time the Spanish controlled and exploited that part of the world.
Potosi is essentially a mining town set below a mountain of silver ore, and people have been mining the silver for decades. The people who had been
While this is going on, two headstrong young women are fighting with their families for very different reasons, and both end up in the convent of the the Abbess Maria Santa Hilda. When one of them is found dead and barricaded in her cell, an apparent suicide, the Abbess, her community, her friends all fall under the scrutiny of the Inquisitor.
The story is part romance, part history, part mystery. Once the basics had been laid down, the pace picked up and I was able to enjoy the chase. And while the ending was a little peremptory, the resolutions were satisfying.
Potosi is essentially a mining town set below a mountain of silver ore, and people have been mining the silver for decades. The people who had been
Show More
getting rich sending the silver to the King of Spain are facing the exhaustion of the mine. Rumors claim the coins created in Potosi are not made of silver alone, which reduces the value of the coins. For this reason and others, the Visitador (civil authority) and a representative of the Inquisition are paying the town a visit.While this is going on, two headstrong young women are fighting with their families for very different reasons, and both end up in the convent of the the Abbess Maria Santa Hilda. When one of them is found dead and barricaded in her cell, an apparent suicide, the Abbess, her community, her friends all fall under the scrutiny of the Inquisitor.
The story is part romance, part history, part mystery. Once the basics had been laid down, the pace picked up and I was able to enjoy the chase. And while the ending was a little peremptory, the resolutions were satisfying.
Show Less
LibraryThing member cathyskye
I don't like admitting it, but my knowledge of South America is woefully inadequate; however, it is due to books like Annamaria Alfieri's City of Silver, that I'm taking up some of the slack. This book takes place in 1650s Potosí in what is now Bolivia. At that time, it was the largest city in the
The setting alone almost blew me away. The author's tapestry is so carefully and closely woven, you almost don't realize how much you're learning about the time and place. When readers start learning about the social history, it gets even better. What it's like living at such high altitude when the windows of the buildings are unglazed (have no glass in them). What it's like to have such unheard-of wealth at your disposal that your everyday dishes are solid silver. My mind was almost boggled-- and I loved it.
But City of Silver is no mere history lesson; it's also a marvelous mystery. From the opening scene in a mine that raised the hair on the back of my neck to the investigation surrounding Inez de la Morada's death, the mystery is multi-layered and totally compelling. The book is imbued with high altitude chill and a pervading sense of danger. The characters are revealed slowly, and almost all of them grow and change with the circumstances.
If you enjoy historical mysteries set in exotic places, I highly recommend Alfieri's City of Silver. Part of me is still on that mountaintop in Potosí.
Show More
Western Hemisphere (comparable in size to London) and the richest city in the entire world-- a position it had held for almost a century because of the area's fabulous silver mines. And due to its 14,000-foot elevation, it's also the highest city in the world.The setting alone almost blew me away. The author's tapestry is so carefully and closely woven, you almost don't realize how much you're learning about the time and place. When readers start learning about the social history, it gets even better. What it's like living at such high altitude when the windows of the buildings are unglazed (have no glass in them). What it's like to have such unheard-of wealth at your disposal that your everyday dishes are solid silver. My mind was almost boggled-- and I loved it.
But City of Silver is no mere history lesson; it's also a marvelous mystery. From the opening scene in a mine that raised the hair on the back of my neck to the investigation surrounding Inez de la Morada's death, the mystery is multi-layered and totally compelling. The book is imbued with high altitude chill and a pervading sense of danger. The characters are revealed slowly, and almost all of them grow and change with the circumstances.
If you enjoy historical mysteries set in exotic places, I highly recommend Alfieri's City of Silver. Part of me is still on that mountaintop in Potosí.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ParadisePorch
I read this chiefly for its setting during the time of the Incan empire in a city in what is now Bolivia.
It was a decent mystery, if a little convoluted. The ending was quite satisfying.
It was a decent mystery, if a little convoluted. The ending was quite satisfying.
Other editions
City of Silver: A Mystery by Annamaria Alfieri (Ebook)