In the spring of 1666, a courtier dies suddenly at Whitehall. Although the royal physician declares the death natural, the victim's influential offices and the number of men eager to inherit them persuade the Earl of Clarendon that he was murdered.
Thomas Chaloner's enquiries lead from the licentious Cockpit Club to Clerkenwell, where a soothsayer predicts that fire will destroy London. Public disgust with the court gives such prophecies political force, and Chaloner must determine whether they are harmless theatre or part of a plan to provoke rebellion.
Neal Stephenson
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Henry Treece
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Angus Donald
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Philippa Gregory
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Cecelia Holland
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