City of Swords (46 page)

Authors: Mary Hoffman

BOOK: City of Swords

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I have loved Lucca from the first time I saw it: a medieval city built on a Roman grid and with complete and massive defensive walls with a rich history both medieval and Renaissance. It begged to be part of Talia, where it is the great city of Fortezza, a di Chimici principality.

I have now walked the circuit of those walls, 4.2 kilometres at a height of twelve metres, broad enough for tree-lined avenues, cyclists, joggers, dog-walkers and buggy-pushing
nonne
to share this free and much-prized amenity of the city.

And you can also walk inside a part of the walls, being dripped on from dank and damp early brickwork of arched and enclosed tunnels and passages, where a spy could lurk round every turn and twist.

Of course, I have taken the usual liberties with this fine Tuscan city. Lucca has eleven bulwarks or
baluardi
, but I have given it an extra one. The further fortification and expansion of the colossal walls was undertaken in the early sixteenth century, but Lucca never needed to withstand the feared siege – unlike Fortezza.

In medieval times, Lucca was ruled by a Signore and then by a succession of dominant local families, so it is not too fanciful to imagine the di Chimici being one similar family, with a dominance over Tuschia (= Tuscany). However, I have given them a very solid Rocca, or castle, to defend within the walls, which you will not find in Lucca.

di Chimici Family Tree

Dramatis Personae

In Talia

Stravaganti

Fabio della Spada,
a swordsmith

Rodolfo Rossi,
a senator

William Dethridge,
aka Guglielmo Crinamorte

Luciano Crinamorte,
aka Lucien Mulholland, a Bellezzan Cavaliere

Suliano Fabriano
(Brother Sulien), a pharmacist-friar

Giuditta Miele,
a sculptor

Paolo Montalbano,
a horsemaster

The di Chimici

Fabrizio,
Grand Duke of Tuschia

Caterina,
his Grand Duchess

Gaetano,
Prince of Giglia

Francesca,
his wife

Filippo,
Prince of Bellona

Jacopo the Elder,
Prince of Fortezza

Carolina,
his wife

Lucia,
Princess of Fortezza

Alfonso,
Duke of Volana

Bianca,
his wife

Ferrando,
Prince of Morexo

Ferdinando,
Pope Lenient VI, Prince of Remora

Rinaldo,
Cardinal of the Reman Church

Other Talians

Arianna Rossi,
the Duchessa of Bellezza

Silvia Rossi,
her mother

Guido Parola,
a reformed assassin

Enrico Poggi,
a spy

General Tasca,
head of the Giglian army

General Bompiani,
head of the Fortezzan army

General Ciampi,
head of the rebel army

Ludo Vivoide,
a Manoush

Roberto and Riccardo,
bodyguards

Vittorio Massi

In 21st-century London

Laura Reid,
a Stravagante

Ellen Reid,
her mother

James Reid,
her father

Isabel Evans,
a Stravagante

Charlie Evans,
her twin brother

Sarah Evans,
their mother

Tony Evans,
their father

Matt Wood,
a Stravagante (see
City of Secrets
)

Ayesha,
Matt’s girlfriend, Isabel’s friend

Sky Meadows,
a Stravagante (see
City of Flowers
)

Georgia O’Grady,
a Stravagante (see
City of Stars
)

Nick Duke,
aka Falco di Chimici, a Stravagante (see
City of Stars
)

Vicky Mulholland,
Lucien’s mother, Nick Duke’s adoptive mother

David Mulholland,
Lucien’s father, Nick Duke’s adoptive father

Mortimer Goldsmith,
an antiques dealer

Eva Holbrook,
Matt’s aunt

Ms Jewell,
a therapist

Alice Greaves

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Julie Bertagna for the picture of Fortezza and recommendations for where to eat in the equivalent city! To Isa for acting as a guide to the labyrinth and to Anne Rooney for advice on sixteenth-century siege warfare and sepsis. To Doctor Joanna Cannon for A & E procedures and to Stevie for building the trebuchet, even though it was his cat who stole the Blu-tack missile. And thanks to Gill Vickery who lent me useful books on sword-making.

The Stravaganza Sequence

By Mary Hoffman

Stravaganza: City of Masks

Stravaganza: City of Stars

Stravaganza: City of Flowers

Stravaganza: City of Secrets

Stravaganza: City of Ships

Stravaganza: City of Swords

PRAISE FOR THE STRAVAGANZA SEQUENCE

City of Masks

‘An extraordinary novel . . . outstanding’
Independent

‘Superbly written’
Eoin Colfer, Evening Herald
Dublin

‘A poignant, touching and exciting novel . . . Without doubt a masterwork of contemporary children’s
literature’
Edgardo Zaghini, Booktrust

‘A nail-biting thriller plot, a fine cast of richly
developed characters . . . full of exotic colour’
Northern Echo

‘Rich in intrigue, pageantry and elaborate detail, this is quite an achievement’
Children’s Bookseller

‘Teems with operatic intrigue, murder, masks,
mortality and love’
Carousel

‘There is mystery, danger, warmth, love, death,
humour and more in this novel, and at its heart is
an extraordinary sense of place – to read this book
is to live for a few hours in sixteenth-century Venice’
Wendy Cooling, Children’s Book Consultant

‘Hoffman has created a world which is rich, colourful and dangerous’
Books for Keeps

‘A gripping and compelling holiday read’
Sunday Express

‘Impossible to put down’
School Librarian

City of Stars

‘An electrifying, treacherous world’
Daily Mail

‘A fabulous story of power, intrigue and flying
horses.This is storytelling at its best’
Bookseller

City of Flowers

‘I was hooked from the start, and quickly transported to another world’
Carousel

‘An absolute triumph’
School Librarian

City of Secrets

‘This is the world of Shakespearean tragedy, brilliantly imagined, rich in period detail and peopled with a wonderful cast of characters . . . A thrilling read and an exciting addition to an acclaimed fantasy series’
School Librarian

City of Ships

‘A breathtaking time-travel story . . . it will electrify and delight’
Julia Eccleshare

Bloomsbury Publishing, London, New Delhi, New York and Sydney

First published in Great Britain in July 2012 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP

This electronic edition published in 2012 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

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