Chalice Argent

''Delightful ... William Neilson continues to exhibit basically all of the virtues. He''s brave, stoical, generous, truthful, constant, protective towards the weak and honourable to a fault. Yet entirely likeable. The nearest series to this I can think of is Patrick O''Brian''s Aubrey-Maturin cycle'' Francis Spufford

''One of our finest writers'' John Burnside, The Times

New Year''s Eve, 1746 and William Neilson is on the move...

William Neilson is a Scottish soldier and a reluctant Jacobite agent. His mission is to transport an exquisite and precious jewel to the exiled James Stuart, King of England, Scotland and Ireland, now residing in Italy. Before he leaves though, he has a more personal ambition - to see, for one last time, the woman he has loved for more than half his life.

As he travels from the wastes and marshes of the Sologne, to the disorderly houses and prisons of Venice and the desolate court-in-exile of the King in Rome, William Nielson meets adventure from sword fights to kidnappings, and love stories to music, while facing sinister threats to his life from those determined to thwart him at every turn.

Full of colour, and with rich and detailed research, the tales of William Nielson are hugely entertaining and a must for readers of swashbuckling fiction.

''An epic voyage well worth taking'' Telegraph

''There is nothing quite like a James Buchan novel'' Financial Times

What readers say about A STREET SHAKEN BY LIGHT, the first William Nielson novel:

''A tight and bright romp of a read'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

''His rollicking romp ranges widely across the world, taking in the French Revolution, the Jacobite rebellion, love affairs, duels, general skullduggery and much else besides, in prose as elegant as it is witty'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐