The Carnival Of Ash

An extravagant, lyrical novel in twelve parts about a city of poets and librarians at the height of the Renaissance. A city that never was.

Tommaso Cellini, celebrated ruler of Cadenza, is dead. For Carlo Mazzoni, an aspiring poet, it is the worst possible moment to arrive at the city gates, his dreams of literary fame turning to disappointment and disgrace.

For Vittoria – known to all but a handful as the notorious ink maid Hypatia – Tommaso’s death is overshadowed by the disappearance of h...