Synopsis:
From the author of The Song of the Jade Lily comes a thrilling story of a family secret that leads to a legendary treasure.
Why would someone bury a bucket of precious jewels and gemstones and never return?
Present Day. When respected American jewelry historian, Kate Kirby, receives a call about the Cheapside jewels, she knows she’s on the brink of the experience of a lifetime.
But the trip to London forces Kate to explore secrets that have long been buried by her own family. Back in Boston, Kate has uncovered a series of sketches in her great-grandmother’s papers linking her suffragette great-grandmother Essie to the Cheapside collection. Could these sketches hold the key to Essie’s secret life in Edwardian London?
In the summer of 1912, impoverished Irish immigrant Essie Murphy happens to be visiting her brother when a workman’s pickaxe strikes through the floor of an old tenement house in Cheapside, near St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. The workmen uncover a stash of treasure—from Ottoman pendants to Elizabethan and Jacobean gems—and then the finds disappear again! Could these jewels—one in particular—change the fortunes of Essie and her sisters?
Together with photographer Marcus Holt, Kate Kirby chases the history of the Cheapside gems and jewels, especially the story of a small diamond champlevé enamel ring. Soon, everything Kate believes about her family, gemology, and herself will be threatened.
Based on a fascinating true story, The Lost Jewels is a riveting historical fiction novel that will captivate readers from the beginning to the unforgettable, surprising end.
Rating: 5-stars
Review:
The Lost Jewels by Kirsty Manning is one remarkable journey. The characters are unforgettable. One young woman’s journey in the present sends her chasing a mystery from the past. An intriguing mystery and one based on a true historical story had me hooked. I wanted to know everything. Secrets, hidden and lost treasures, and historical facts need to be found and are discovered on these pages. This was an exciting story that is well-researched and cleverly written. I was engaged from the beginning. The story switched from both present day to past moments, but it was done well. I was able to connect, understand, and follow along easily. This was my first novel that I have read by this talented writer. I look forward to reading more by her in the future. Adventure and history can be found here. I loved every moment. If you’re looking for a perfect Edwardian historical novel to read, this is it!
Urban Book Reviews 