About Matthew Plampin
Matthew Plampin is the author of several highly acclaimed historical novels, most recently Will & Tom and Mrs Whistler. He has a PhD from the Courtauld Institute of Art and has worked as a lecturer, tour guide and children's author. He lives in London with his wife and son.
These Wicked Devices - out 3rd July
Rome, 1650. The streets are teeming as thousands of pilgrims flood in for the Holy Jubilee, but behind the gilded facade of the Vatican, power is unravelling.
Donna Olimpia Maidalchini has long kept Pope Innocent X under her thumb, but as loyalties shift, her enemies close in. And her most dangerous opponents may be those she deems too weak to matter.
Two destitute nuns arrive, fleeing the ruined city of Castro and each carrying secrets that could destroy them.
Meanwhile, the assistant to the famed Spanish artist Diego Velazquez is drawn into a perilous conspiracy - one that could bring Italy to its knees, and against which his own desperate ambitions seem to count for nothing.
As the sweltering summer heat rises, survival, not salvation, becomes the ultimate goal - and in this world of sin, saints almost never survive.
'Between the pages of These Wicked Devices I was transported to the streets and palaces of baroque Rome in all the sordid splendour of the Holy Jubilee. Plampin’s characters, knotty, ruthless and complicated, weave their intrigues and ambitions and carry dangerous secrets as they struggle to survive in a place where power shifts constantly. Gripping, immersive, at times very funny and beautifully written, this is historical fiction of the highest quality' Elizabeth Fremantle, author of Disobedient
'Wickedly brilliant… a darkly fascinating, suspenseful and Machiavellian tale. So richly evoked you can almost smell the incense of Papal Rome. Highly recommended' Anna Mazzola, author of The Book of Secrets
'Beautifully and fluently written, it is such an unusual and interesting story – full of brilliant characters who pulse with life and the Rome of 1650 is fascinatingly evoked' Elizabeth Buchan, author of Bonjour, Sophie
'Absolutely loved These Wicked Devices. Rome in 1650 brought vividly to life, full of fascinating real historical figures, an utterly gripping plot and beautiful writing. I could almost feel the heat of the Italian sun when I was reading it. Fabulous stuff' Beth Lewis, author of The Rush
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