Books › King of the Vagabonds
King of the Vagabonds
The Baroque Cycle #2
377 pages
A sweeping, swashbuckling historical epic that balances gritty street-level survival with the grand, high-stakes birth of modern finance.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like being swept into a chaotic, high-stakes era of transformation, where the grit of the streets collides with the velvet-draped halls of power. The narrative moves at a brisk, adventurous pace, charting a course through breathtaking exploits, perilous rescues, and the slow, maddening toll of disease. It is a sweeping historical experience that balances the visceral thrill of swashbuckling survival with the intricate, cerebral maneuvering of spies and royals shaping a new financial world. The prose captures both the grime of the vagabond life and the grand scale of a continent in flux. It will delight readers who crave sprawling, ambitious historical fiction where reckless adventurers and sharp-minded confidantes reinvent themselves alongside history itself.
- Mood
- chaotic
- perilous
- grand
- high-stakes
- Tone
- adventurous
- sweeping
- gritty
- dramatic
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- ambition and survival · reinvention of self and society · the birth of modern finance · the cost of adventure
- The writing
- Detailed and sweeping, capturing both the visceral grime of vagabond life and the grand scale of a continent in flux.
- The arc
- A sweeping journey from reckless, street-level survival to the high-stakes, cerebral maneuvering of global politics and finance.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love sprawling historical fiction that blends swashbuckling action with the intricate mechanics of economics and royal espionage.
Content notes
- illness and disease
- references to captivity
- criminal violence
About the book
A chronicle of the breathtaking exploits of "Half-Cocked Jack" Shaftoe -- London street urchin-turned-legendary swashbuckling adventurer -- risking life and limb for fortune and love while slowly maddening from the pox... and Eliza, rescued by Jack from a Turkish harem to become spy, confidante, and pawn of royals in order to reinvent a contentious continent through the newborn power of finance. --back cover
Description from Open Library.
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