Niccolò Rising by Dorothy Dunnett – 15/20 Books of Summer

It’s hard to know where to start with this dazzling book but, after a slow start, it became so compelling I had to switch from the leisurely pace of the audiobook to a trusty paperback. That also helped with the typically Dunnett vast array of characters, as the actual book has a proper list of those involved, most of whom are “recorded in history,” as is revealed a bit smugly. Her best known series, the Lymond Chronicles, is set during the 16th century. In Niccolò Rising, which turned out to be book one of eight, she sets the scene in 1460 and her hero is not a member of the landed gentry like Francis Crawford but a lowly 18-year-old apprentice for a Bruges dyer. 

Marian de Charetty, the widow managing the business and a distant relative, took Claes in when he was ten after his mother’s family in Geneva rejected him. Since then, he has been part of the household, operating as a companion to Felix, the petulant son of the house, when he can be spared from the dyeing.

Although dismissed by everyone as a buffoon, Claes has hidden depths and has learned a lot simply by being overlooked. He recognizes that the mineral alum is essential to the dyeing industry because it binds the color to the fabric. Somehow he has gathered information about a hidden alum mine and he uses this information to start his rise to fame and fortune. Loyal to the Charettys, he starts using his unsuspected skills at languages, puzzles, and intricate planning to benefit the widow’s business as well as himself.

Bruges

In contrast to Francis Crawford, Dunnett’s original hero, Claes is not particularly attractive: he has a broad brow, his eyes are described as moon-like, his hair is the dun-colored. He is an oak tree with powerful shoulders, built like an artisan in contrast to his enemy, the slender and handsome Scotsman, Simon of Kilmirren. But Claes has a happy-go-lucky attitude, a winsome smile, and dimples that women find irresistible, even if men become exasperated and beat him constantly. Actually, I was irritated too! Even though I knew he was going to “rise” and astound his critics, I found his inability to stay out of trouble annoying – until I became fascinated by his schemes and his metamorphosis from Claes into Niccolò.

One reason my attempts to get past the first two chapters were previously unsuccessful is that I don’t enjoy Dunnett’s comedic scenes. This book begins with a prolonged episode in which Claes, Felix, and the tutor/notary, Julius, have hitched a ride on a small sailing ship heading to Bruges, containing a bathtub for their overlord, the Duke of Burgundy. Claes winds up in the canal (and not for the last time), a young woman loses her headdress, there’s a broken leg, many offended bystanders, and possible damage to valuable items on board. Eventually, Marian de Charetty and I learned that Claes (and Dunnett) never did (or wrote) anything without a purpose. When I finished the book, I started back at the beginning and had much more appreciation of this episode and others, although there’s still a lot I need to reassess and understand.

One cannot read (or listen) to this book without being in awe of Dunnett’s research, which was even more vast than for the Lymond books. I sometimes got lost trying to keep track of the rival merchants but the main characters are easy to keep straight.

I had planned to read this book on my way to Bruges in April and now I really regret not following through, but it required more concentration than I had while traveling.  Instead, I put it on my 20 Books of Summer and I finished it with a week to spare! This is also my thirteenth book for the Intrepid Reader's 2025 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge, and there is no doubt my next one will be book two in the series, The Spring of the Ram.  Sadly, Judy Amory, my mother's best friend and fellow Dunnett enthusiast (I considered her an adopted godmother), died in December, so the three of us will never be able to sit together and discuss this series, but I know she would have been thrilled I finally read and enjoyed the first book. 

Title: Niccolò Rising
Author: Dorothy Dunnett; narrator, John Banks
Publication: Tantor Media, audiobook, 2023; Vintage Books, paperback, 1999 (originally published in 1986)
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: Library/Libby and personal copy