Tobias - Book One of The Triptych Chronicle

By Prue Batten

Byzantium stretches a weakening grip across Eastern Europe, trying in vain to hold onto all that has made it an empire. Tyrian purple, the unique dye that denotes its power, is held under close guard by the imperial house.
However a Jewish merchant from Venice has sourced an illegal supply and Tobias the dwarf minstrel and his twin brother, Tomas, begin a dangerous journey to retrieve the purple and deliver it into the merchant’s eager hands.
But is this supply as secret as they had hoped?
Trade is cut throat, men are expendable, money is power and Constantinople provides the exotic backdrop during a time of scimitars and shadows.
This is Tobias – the story of a minstrel and a broken life…

Semi-finalist in M.m.Bennetts Award for Historical Fiction (UK) - 2016
'Authentic characters and a twisting plot move this tale to a gripping end.' Christian Cameron, author of The Chivalry Series
'Although the time and the place of the story is very different, there was something ... that reminded me of the great Patrick O'Brian. For historical fiction, there is really no greater praise.' Matthew Harffy - The Bernicia Chronicles.
‘A powerful tale of violence, treachery, and intrigue, set in the cut-throat world of medieval trade.’ Ann Swinfen, author of The Chronicles of Christoval Alvarez.
‘An atmospheric journey through the seedy underbelly of medieval Europe.’ SJA Turney, author of Marius’s Mules.