The lost jewels A novel

Esteemed historian Dr. Kate Kirby is tasked with uncovering the origins of the Cheapside Hoard, a cache of priceless gems discovered by London workmen in 1912. In accepting the assignment, Kate sees an opportunity to add on some independent research. She grew up hearing tall tales of the hoard from her great-grandmother Essie, a Cheapside native. Traveling to London, Paris, India, Sri Lanka, and back to Boston, Kate begins unraveling the mystery of the precious jewels, along with her great-grandmother's biggest secret. In this historical tale inspired by a true story, Australian author Manning (The Song of the Jade Lily, 2019) uses Essie and Kate as alternating narrators, with interludes from other individuals involved in the life cycle of the precious jewels. From an Indian boy working in the mines of Golconda to a sailor catching a glimpse of an emerald as big as his fist, Manning gives a voice to those so often unheard in the jewelry industry. A tale of transferred wealth, power, and passion, Manning's novel will appeal to fans of Penny Vincenzi's A Perfect Heritage (2015), Paula McLain's The Paris Wife (2011), and Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian (2005).

Australian author Manning follows her big-hit U.S. debut, The Song of the Jade Lily, with fact-based historical fiction about the Cheapside jewels, a stash of Ottoman pendants and Elizabethan and Jacobian sparklers discovered beneath the floor of a 1912 London tenement. They quickly disappeared, but in present times American jewelry historian Kate Kirby learns that her great-grandmother Essie may have a link to the jewels. With a 75,000-copy paperback and 30, 000-copy hardcover first printing.