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Publication Order of The Lymond Chronicles Books
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Publication Order of The House of Niccolò Books
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Dorothy Dunnett was one of the most popular Scottish authors who used to write her novels based on the mystery and historical fiction genres. She was particularly famous for writing down The Lymond Chronicles, which is based on Francis Crawford hailing from Lymond. This series is a 6 volume series, which was followed by an 8 part prequel series known as The House of Nicolo. Other than her successful historical novel series, author Dunnett also wrote a book based on Macbeth, which is called as King Hereafter. In the mystery genre, she wrote a series called Johnson Johnson, which is based on the life of a spy/portrait painter of the same name. Author Dunnett was born as Dorothy Halliday on 25 August 1923, in Dunfermline, Scotland; and died on 9 November 2001 in Edinburgh, Scotland at the age 78. The success of her interesting novels had helped author Dunnett to win an OBE, which is the most notable award of her career. Before going on to become a full time writer, she Dunnett received her primary education from the James Gillespie High School located in Edinburgh.
After completing her graduation, she began working in the civil service as a press officer, where she came across her husband named Sir Alastair Dunnett. After working for several years, author Dunnett became famous as a leading light in the art world of Scotland. Being a professional painter of portraits, she was popularly known as the Renaissance woman. Her paintings have been exhibited on a number of occasions at the Royal Scottish Academy. Numerous prominent figures in Scotland had commissioned portraits from author Dunnett at that time. In addition to painting, she was very much interested in opera and was one of the trustees in Scotland’s National Library. Other than that, she was a board member of the International Book Festival in Edinburgh, a director of the Scottish Television, as well as a trustee of the National War Memorial of Scotland. In the year 1992, author Dunnett received her OBE for her dedicated services in the field of literature.
Alexander Harrison from The Times Literary Supplement reviewed the last novel written by Dunnett in the year 2000, Gemini, and after that all the historical fiction novels that she had written in her writing career. The written works of author Dunnett are not mainly considered as the neutral prose of the fiction genre. They are believed to be hard to read and opaque at times. She has received recognition from the critics and her fans because of being an author of the historical fiction novels and not as a historian or a literary novelist. In the year 2001, author Dunnett laid down the foundation of the Dorothy Dunnett Society for promoting her interests in the historical periods, which she often used to write about and communicate with her fans. After her death, he archives were given to Scotland’s National Library. The articles that she had written in her archives now appear in the magazine run by the Dorothy Dunnett Society, called as Whispering Gallery. Dunnet has married Sir Alastair Dunnett in the year 1946, who is well known as The Scotsman newspaper’s editor. Author Dunnett had become Lady Dunnett because of her husband’s knighthood in the year 1995. She is survived by a couple of sons named Mungo and Ninian Dunnett.
One of the most successful novel series written by Dorothy Dunnett is called as ‘The House of Nicolo’. It is comprised of a total of 8 books, published from 1986 to 2000. This series serves as the prequel to the previous series written by author Dunnett called as The Lymond Chronicles. The initial novel of the House of Nicolo series was published under the title ‘Nicolo Rising’ It was released by the Vintage publishing house in 1986. This novel is set in the middle of the 15th century in Europe and revolves around the life of the main protagonist named Nicholas Vander Poele. At that time, the intrepid merchants of Europe had become the recent knighthood. Nicholas Poele was the most cunning and bold among all the merchants. He was the apprentice of a dyer and used schemes for swashbuckling his way into the mercantile empire. The novel takes the readers to the life of the merchants during the 15th century in Bruges. They had their gentle pastime in jousting and the successful merchants were very much needed at that time. The hero of this novel used his street smartness, adeptness to diplomacies, and brilliance to rise in an unbelievable adventure from his prodigy. He becomes successful in winning the hand of the most successful woman all over Bruges as well as the hatred of his enemies. Nicholas indulges in a potentially murderous and riotous carnival in the town of Flanders, a battle in Naples, and experiences an avalanche in the mountain ranges of the Alps. In the end, the novel combines adventure, romance, and history, and showcases an intriguing novel to the readers.
The other initial novel of The House of Nicolo series was published under the title ‘The Spring of the Ram’. It was released by the vintage publishing house in the year 1987. This book’s story continues to revolve around the adventures of Nicholas Poele during the time of the year 1461 in Burges. the beginning plot of this book shows that Nicholas is backed by Cosimo de’ Medici in Florence and is set to sail to Trebizond through the black sea. The last jewel seems to be missing from the Ottoman Empire’s Crown due to which Nicholas senses trouble ahead on his journey. Later, he comes to know that his 13 year old stepdaughter has joined the trade with his rival merchant named Machiavellian Genoese. He sails ahead of Nicholas and cause trouble for him at each and every port. Time appears to be of essence for Nicholas as he is required to reach to Trebizond as soon as possible as it is on the verge of falling at any moment. In the end, the novel proved to a breathtaking adventure, showcasing a pyrotechnic mixture of narrative and scholarship. The overall plot of the novel shimmers with sounds, scents, emotions, and colors, all of which helped it to become very much successful.
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I stumbled, quite by chance, on the third (reading) book of the Lymond Chronicles, Disorderly Knights. I was a Fire Lookout at the time and listening to books, my entertainment. I was thrust into a very authentic, historical environment of a wild, Scottish wedding.. all spoken in a thick Scot narration. Deciphering what he was saying was part of the joy. The story reeled me in.. The Knights Hospitallers in the siege of Malta.. what a rip!
One of my favorite series. I originally found the 1st book “The Game of Kings”, in my local library. As soon as I could find the paperback, I bought it and the entire series. I still have those paperbooks on my bookshelf. Copyright 1961, published by Eagle Books, in the Popular Library series. Original cost $1.25. Not sure how old I was when I first stumbled across the 1st book. I was driving myself to the library, so, that might have occurred in 1969…..