The Venice Equation
In dark times, an adventure can lead the way
When the legendary scientist known as the Master of Venice vanishes without a trace, he leaves behind a book containing a single page—an equation said to reveal the innermost nature of the universe.
In a baroque house on a hill outside Bordeaux, Jeanne grows up together with her mother and the ageing Monsieur Voullard. Jeanne grows up protected from the world, surrounded by fragrant gardens, antique maps, and long-forgotten secrets. But one night in 1913 strangers encircle the house, and her mother is taken away, accused of murder in Venice. Forced to flee into the darkness of the woods.
Thus begins a difficult, disorienting, and spellbinding journey—from the vineyards of France to Venice’s hidden societies—where science, mysticism, and the grief of childhood are woven together in a story of courage, inheritance, and the power concealed within the smallest elements of science.
In this sweeping novel, Victoria Larm moves across Europe, blending mysticism and science in the spirit of The Perfume, The Shadow of the Wind, and The Name of the Rose, creating an adventurous and suspenseful tale centred on a young girl with extraordinary, undiscovered abilities.
Victoria Larm (b. 1984) made her debut in 2022 with The Ninth Circle, the first instalment in a historical suspense trilogy, The Plague Mask, which was followed by A God in Disguise in 2023. Larm has studied history and art history and has previously worked in the fashion industry. In addition to writing, her greatest…
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About the book
In dark times, an adventure can lead the way
When the legendary scientist known as the Master of Venice vanishes without a trace, he leaves behind a book containing a single page—an equation said to reveal the innermost nature of the universe.
In a baroque house on a hill outside Bordeaux, Jeanne grows up together with her mother and the ageing Monsieur Voullard. Jeanne grows up protected from the world, surrounded by fragrant gardens, antique maps, and long-forgotten secrets. But one night in 1913 strangers encircle the house, and her mother is taken away, accused of murder in Venice. Forced to flee into the darkness of the woods.
Thus begins a difficult, disorienting, and spellbinding journey—from the vineyards of France to Venice’s hidden societies—where science, mysticism, and the grief of childhood are woven together in a story of courage, inheritance, and the power concealed within the smallest elements of science.
In this sweeping novel, Victoria Larm moves across Europe, blending mysticism and science in the spirit of The Perfume, The Shadow of the Wind, and The Name of the Rose, creating an adventurous and suspenseful tale centred on a young girl with extraordinary, undiscovered abilities.
