The Filigree Master's Apprentice - Johnson Maia, Jeannine

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Résumé :
Set in a city of merchants and workers, sailors and kings, the privileged and the poor, The Filigree Master's Apprentice is a story of resilience, friendship, and a young man's search for the person he wants to become. Portugal, October 1877: When 17-year-old Henrique is offered a job in Porto, he jumps at the opportunity to escape his harsh life among the vineyards of a Port wine estate. Behind him is a searing betrayal he wants to forget. Ahead is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work in the elegant shop of a goldsmith in a city that's preparing to inaugurate a magnificent iron bridge over the Douro River. But in Porto, the welcome he receives is far from friendly. As he struggles to make the city his own, he explores its sinuous streets, rubs shoulders with mapmakers and rabble-rousers, and begins to learn the delicate art of filigree-making. When an unwelcome acquaintance from his past appears, dredging up old accusations of thievery, Henrique finds both his new life - and the bridge that symbolizes it - under threat. He must decide what he's willing to risk to save himself, his adopted city's illustrious new landmark, and maybe even Portugal's royal family....

Biographie:
Jeannine Johnson Maia is the author of two historical novels that take place in Portugal: 'The Filigree Master's Apprentice,' a story of 19th-century Porto, and 'Rossio Square N.? 59,' a novel of WWII Lisbon. Before moving to Portugal, Jeannine worked as a journalist in Belgium and Washington, D.C....

Sommaire:
Set in a city of merchants and workers, sailors and kings, the privileged and the poor, The Filigree Master's Apprentice is a story of resilience, friendship, and a young man's search for his place in a changing world. Portugal, October 1877: When 17-year-old Henrique is offered a job in Porto, he seizes the opportunity to escape his harsh life among the vineyards of a Port wine estate. Behind him is a searing betrayal he cannot forget. Ahead is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to work in the elegant shop of a goldsmith in a city preparing to inaugurate Gustave Eiffel's magnificent iron bridge over the Douro River. In Porto, the welcome he receives is far from friendly. As Henrique navigates its sinuous streets, rubs shoulders with mapmakers and rabble-rousers, and struggles to master the delicate art of filigree, he learns that skill alone may not be enough to secure his future. When someone from his past resurfaces, reviving old accusations of thievery, Henrique must confront the very history he hoped to escape - or risk losing everything he's worked so hard to build....