City of Swords will be the sixth installment of the Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman. Its corresponding short story is Under the Walls.
The main character is Laura Reid, who appeared briefly in the previous book as one of Isabel Evans' friends. She stravagates to Fortezza and her talisman is a silver paper knife[2].
The book was released on 5 July 2012 in the United Kingdom[3]; its North American release will follow on August 21, 2012[4].
“ | It is set in Fortezza and there will be a siege and battle and the return of many old friends. | ” |
“ | With City of Swords, there is an important falling in love at first sight... | ” |
Synopsis[]
Desperately unhappy, Laura has resorted to secretly self-harming. When she finds a mysterious silver sword, it acts as her talisman and transports her to Fortezza, where she meets the swordsmith Fabio. But Laura also meets the charming and attractive Ludo, and falls for him. However, a serious rivalry is brewing in Fortezza and Laura finds her loyalties dangerously divided when she finds the Stravaganti working to support Princess Lucia's claim to the throne against Ludo's faction, which seeks to overthrow Lucia and allow Ludo to take the Fortezzan crown.
Contents[]
- Prologue: Darkening the Light
- 1. Messages on the Skin
- 2. When a Prince Dies
- 3. Beware the Heir
- 4. A City in Waiting
- 5. A New Ruler
- 6. A Fresh Wound
- 7. Family Loyalty
- 8. Within the Walls
- 9. Deceptions
- 10. The Army Moves
- 11. The Girl from the Future
- 12. Siege
- 13. Portrait of a Young Woman
- 14. First Strike
- 15. Retaliation
- 16. Old Wounds and New
- 17. Complications
- 18. Borderlands
- 19. Treachery
- 20. Trial and Execution
- 21. Safe Conduct
- 22. Lost Silver
- 23. Murky Water
- 24. In the Cathedral
- Epilogue: Saved
- Historical Note
- di Chimici family tree
- Dramatis Personae
- Acknowledgements
Characters[]
Stravaganti[]
- Laura Reid
- Fabio della Spada
- Isabel Evans
- Luciano Crinamorte
- Rodolfo Rossi
- Guglielmo Crinamorte
- Georgia O'Grady
- Nick Duke
- Sky Meadows
- Matt Wood
- Brother Sulien
- Giuditta Miele
- Paolo Montalbani
Talians[]
- Ludo Vivoide
- Guido Parola[7]
- Arianna Rossi, Duchessa of Bellezza
- Silvia Rossi
- Enrico Poggi
- General Girolamo Tasca, head of the Giglian army
- General Stefano Bompiani, head of the Fortezzan army
- General Bertoldo Ciampi, head of the rebel army
- Roberto and Riccardo, bodyguards
- Vittorio Massi
Di Chimici[]
- Lucia of Fortezza, elder daughter of Jacopo the Elder
- Jacopo the Elder, Prince of Fortezza, Lucia and Bianca's father
- Carolina, Jacopo's wife
- Alfonso, Duke of Volana
- Bianca, Alfonso's wife, Lucia's younger sister
- Fabrizio, Grand Duke of Tuschia
- Caterina, Fabrizio's Grand Duchess
- Gaetano of Giglia, Fabrizio's younger brother
- Francesca, Gaetano's wife
- Filippo of Bellona, Francesca's older brother
- Ferrando, Prince of Moresco
- Pope Lenient VI, Ferdinando, Prince of Remora
- Cardinal Rinaldo di Chimici
In Islington[]
- Charlie Evans
- Ayesha
- Mortimer Goldsmith
- Eva Holbrook
- Ellen Reid
- James Reid
- Sarah Evans
- Tony Evans
- Vicky Mulholland
- David Mulholland
- Ms Jewell, a therapist
- Alice Greaves
Cover Gallery[]
Books City of Masks · City of Stars · City of Flowers · City of Secrets · City of Ships · City of Swords | |||
Short Stories A Talian Tale · A Sting in the Tail · An Impossible Task · Sugar Fox · The Fourth Wise Man · Under the Walls |