Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Harvill Secker (2022), 352 pages
Description
"Dora Blake is a talented jewelry designer who lives under the thumb of her suspicious and odious uncle, who is running her late parents' beloved shop of antiquities into the ground. When he begins acting erratically after a mysterious Greek vase is delivered and locked in the basement, Dora enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a young antiquarian scholar, who (unbeknownst to her) sees the vase as an opportunity to unlock his academic future. Dora hopes to restore the shop to its former glory, find a future for her own elegant, artistic designs, and escape the iniquitous plans her uncle has in store for her. But what Edward claims to discover about the vase unravels everything Dora knows about her life, her family, and the antiquities in the basement. As she begins to uncover the truth, she realizes that some mysteries are buried for a reason - and others are closer to the surface than they appear. Atmospheric and page-turning, Pandora is a story of secrets and deception, love and fulfilment, fate and hope"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member libraryhead
Just OK. A bit of mystery, a bit of romance. No mythological, fantasy, or supernatural elements.
LibraryThing member infjsarah
Sadly I was very MEH on this book. It was easy to read mostly although I did need a dictionary for some of the descriptions. But it just never had any jeopardy for me. The supposed "bad guy" just never felt very dangerous and I never felt that the 2 main characters were at risk at all.
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Disappointing. Show Less
LibraryThing member Cariola
Since the deaths of her parents when she was a child, Pandora Blake has lived with her uncle, a nasty man who took over his brother's antiquarian shop and has been making shady deals, selling fakes and possibly illegally acquired objects. Her only friend is a pet magpie named Hermes. Pandora, a
This book is primarily a historical mystery (hence I don't want to give away too much), but it also has a lot of Dickensian elements and a bit of romance. Hezekiah is the perfect Victorian villain, aided by the Coombes brothers and his housekeeper/lover Lottie. There are also several interesting upper class characters, including Cornelius Ashmole, Edward's friend and benefactor; Sir William Hamilton (who turns out to have saved Dora's life) and his scandalous wife Emma; and Lady Latimer, an aristocratic hostess who shows interest in both the pithos and Dora's jewelry designs. Overall, I enjoyed this one, although it took a while to get through its 400+ pages.
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talented artist, dreams of escaping by making her living as a jewelry designer. She discovers a pithos--a very large Greek vase engraved with mythological scenes--hidden in the basement and enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a bookbinder and amateur antiquarian, to learn more about it. Edward has long sought membership in the Antiquarian Society and hopes that his research, along with Pandora's drawings of the engravings, will gain him entry.This book is primarily a historical mystery (hence I don't want to give away too much), but it also has a lot of Dickensian elements and a bit of romance. Hezekiah is the perfect Victorian villain, aided by the Coombes brothers and his housekeeper/lover Lottie. There are also several interesting upper class characters, including Cornelius Ashmole, Edward's friend and benefactor; Sir William Hamilton (who turns out to have saved Dora's life) and his scandalous wife Emma; and Lady Latimer, an aristocratic hostess who shows interest in both the pithos and Dora's jewelry designs. Overall, I enjoyed this one, although it took a while to get through its 400+ pages.
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LibraryThing member spiritedstardust
I found this really boring.
The multiple POVs really weren’t necessary.
The “mystery” didn’t end up being anything amazing.
And worst of all this included animal cruelty - something I hate reading about.
The “romance” was also crap.
The multiple POVs really weren’t necessary.
The “mystery” didn’t end up being anything amazing.
And worst of all this included animal cruelty - something I hate reading about.
The “romance” was also crap.
LibraryThing member srms.reads
Twenty-one-year-old Pandora “Dora” Blake lives and works in her late parents' antiquities shop in Georgian London. Her parents had been renowned antiquarians specializing in Grecian artifacts and had made their living excavating tombs in South-Eastern Europe. Their untimely death in a mishap
One day her uncle acquires a mysterious crate and stores it in the basement of the shop under lock and key. Hezekiah’s obsession with the object and strange sounds coming from behind the locked door of the basement fuel Dora’s curiosity and she manages to trick her uncle and enter the basement and is fascinated by what she sees. The crate contained a rare Grecian jar or “pithos” in pristine condition with images of Greek mythological figures across its surface.
“There is a sudden sigh, a hum, a fluttering. It comes not from behind but in front of her, from within the vase, and Dora hears all at once its siren call, its darkling plea. It is the hush of wind, the whisper of waves, the music of grief, and she cannot help it, she cannot resist. Dora lifts the lid.”
The intricate patterns on the artifact inspire Dora’s new designs that she hopes will attract the interest of local jewelers who up until then haven't been too impressed with her sketches. To find out more about the pithos and its origins she enlists the help of bookbinder and aspiring antiquarian Edward Lawrence, who expresses a scholarly interest in the same, in hopes that his research into this mysterious artifact would earn him a place with the Society of Antiquaries, an endeavor in which he has been unsuccessful so far. It also appears that the pithos has brought with it a bout of bad luck to those involved in the acquisition- the Coombes brothers who extracted it from a shipwreck are each afflicted with strange injuries and illnesses that won’t heal and Hezekiah incurs an injury while transporting it to his shop which also seems to fester. Together as Dora and Edward dig deeper into the origin and history of the pithos and also try to figure out how it ended up in Hezekiah's possession, they uncover much about Hezekiah’s nefarious dealings as well as the secrets and myth surrounding the pithos and how it connects to Dora and her family.
Susan Stokes-Chapman's Pandora is an impressive debut novel. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story with its historical backdrop of Georgian England, a cast of interesting characters, engaging narrative and a mystery with the Greek myth of Pandora at its core. The prose is elegant, the story is well-paced and the setting is quaint yet atmospheric. I found the segments detailing facets of the antiquarian trade and illegal practices in the sale of valuable artifacts prevalent in that era very interesting. The cover design of the physical book is stunning and worthy of display. I would definitely recommend this novel to fans of historical fiction who don't mind a bit of fantasy and myth thrown in for good measure.
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during an excavation twelve years ago left Dora orphaned and under the care of her unscrupulous and corrupt uncle Hezekiah Blake who promptly took over the shop and is responsible for its present state of disrepute, dealing mostly in forgeries and objects with not much historical significance. Dora aspires to be a jewelry designer and spends time honing her craft with her faithful pet magpie Hermes by her side, despite the constant beratement and ridicule of her uncle who would rather be rid of her.One day her uncle acquires a mysterious crate and stores it in the basement of the shop under lock and key. Hezekiah’s obsession with the object and strange sounds coming from behind the locked door of the basement fuel Dora’s curiosity and she manages to trick her uncle and enter the basement and is fascinated by what she sees. The crate contained a rare Grecian jar or “pithos” in pristine condition with images of Greek mythological figures across its surface.
“There is a sudden sigh, a hum, a fluttering. It comes not from behind but in front of her, from within the vase, and Dora hears all at once its siren call, its darkling plea. It is the hush of wind, the whisper of waves, the music of grief, and she cannot help it, she cannot resist. Dora lifts the lid.”
The intricate patterns on the artifact inspire Dora’s new designs that she hopes will attract the interest of local jewelers who up until then haven't been too impressed with her sketches. To find out more about the pithos and its origins she enlists the help of bookbinder and aspiring antiquarian Edward Lawrence, who expresses a scholarly interest in the same, in hopes that his research into this mysterious artifact would earn him a place with the Society of Antiquaries, an endeavor in which he has been unsuccessful so far. It also appears that the pithos has brought with it a bout of bad luck to those involved in the acquisition- the Coombes brothers who extracted it from a shipwreck are each afflicted with strange injuries and illnesses that won’t heal and Hezekiah incurs an injury while transporting it to his shop which also seems to fester. Together as Dora and Edward dig deeper into the origin and history of the pithos and also try to figure out how it ended up in Hezekiah's possession, they uncover much about Hezekiah’s nefarious dealings as well as the secrets and myth surrounding the pithos and how it connects to Dora and her family.
Susan Stokes-Chapman's Pandora is an impressive debut novel. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story with its historical backdrop of Georgian England, a cast of interesting characters, engaging narrative and a mystery with the Greek myth of Pandora at its core. The prose is elegant, the story is well-paced and the setting is quaint yet atmospheric. I found the segments detailing facets of the antiquarian trade and illegal practices in the sale of valuable artifacts prevalent in that era very interesting. The cover design of the physical book is stunning and worthy of display. I would definitely recommend this novel to fans of historical fiction who don't mind a bit of fantasy and myth thrown in for good measure.
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Language
Original language
English
Physical description
352 p.; 9.45 inches
ISBN
1787302881 / 9781787302884
Local notes
London, 1799. Dora Blake is an aspiring jewellery artist who lives with her uncle in what used to be her parents' famed shop of antiquities. The discovery of a mysterious ancient Greek vase sets in motion conspiracies, revelations and romance.
Waterstones exclusive with patterned sprayed page edges.
Waterstones exclusive with patterned sprayed page edges.