Other editions of book Musk and Amber

Julian Linchcombe is the remarkable heir to the Earl of Linchcombe’s estate and he has the voice of an angel. When he is taken to the festival of San Januerius in Italy to witness a miracle, his uncle arranges for him to go sailing with a local fisherman. But Julian is soon lured into running away. A massive search goes underway to find the missing boy until eventually a body turns up broken and tangled in a fishing net. A sinister plot is uncovered involving fraud, kidnap and murder. Has Julian been stolen away for his voice? And who is dead?

This is the story of a strange crime, a strange punishment. Julian, youthful heir to a great name, a great fortune and a house in 18th century England, is cheated of his birthright by a jealous half-sister and her cousin-paramour. But Julian survives, accepts the identity foisted upon him, as child of Italian fisherfolk, and—while taking advantage of the opportunity for a musical career which a glorious voice affords him—secretly dedicates his life to a pattern of revenge. In this aim he is almost foiled by the jealousy of a fellow musician, who makes his life forfeit on a trumped up charge, in politics ridden Venice. But he escapes, sided by an elderly Englishman, longtime family friend, who recognizes him and keeps his secret, and more by good luck than good management, he escapes from Venice, and eventually gets to England, where he carries out his revenge, slays his successor in a duel, and leaves intact the sanctity of the name and place he loved.