Today, the only place remaining from this adventure is the Banqueting House. It’s still there, the final remnant of a line of famous kings, and you can go and visit it (and rent it out for an event, if you like). You can even still see Rubens’s magnificent paintings on the ceiling. Good thing Christopher didn’t tear them down.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It’s my privilege to have so many talented folks helping put these books together. I’d like to say thank you to the following:
To Liesa Abrams and Suri Rosen, both of whom offered insights that made this story immeasurably better.
To Valerie Garfield, Jon Anderson, Christina Solazzo, Julie Doebler, Karin Paprocki, Hilary Zarycky, Brian Luster, Daphne Tagg, Christina Pecorale, Michelle Leo, Lauren Carr, Caitlin Sweeny, Anna Jarzab, Victor Iannone, Gary Urda, Emily Hutton, Stephanie Voros, Anna Parsons, and Kara Sargent at Aladdin.
To Kevin Hanson, Felicia Quon, Arden Hagedorn, Laura MacDonald, Shara Alexa, and Rita Silva at Simon & Schuster Canada.
To Dan Lazar, Cecilia de la Campa, Torie Doherty-Munro, and James Munro at Writers House.
To the publishers around the world who have embraced the Blackthorn Key series.
And, as always, to you, dear reader: Thank you for joining Christopher on this adventure. One more to go…
More from this Series
The Blackthorn Key
Book 1
Mark of the Plague
Book 2
The Assassin's Curse
Book 3
Call of the Wraith
Book 4
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Since escaping from university with a pair of degrees in theoretical physics, KEVIN SANDS has worked as a researcher, a business consultant, and a teacher. He lives in Ontario, Canada. He is the author of the award-winning and bestselling Blackthorn Key series.
Aladdin
Simon & Schuster, New York
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Kevin-Sands
Also by Kevin Sands
The Blackthorn Key
Mark of the Plague
The Assassin’s Curse
Call of the Wraith
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
First Aladdin hardcover edition May 2021
Text copyright © 2021 by Kevin Sands
Interior illustrations on pages 56, 58, 65, 101, 196, 204, 212, 256, 374 copyright © 2021 by Jim Madsen
Sir Erkenwald’s tomb image on page 180 courtesy of Hathi Trust Digital Library (public domain)
Whitehall 1860 map image on pages 55 and 283 courtesy of Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Jacket illustration and interior illustrations on pages 167–171 copyright © 2021 by James Fraser
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
ALADDIN and related logo are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected].
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Series design by Karin Paprocki
Jacket designed by Karin Paprocki
Interior designed by Hilary Zarycky
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Sands, Kevin, author.
Title: The traitor’s blade / by Kevin Sands.
Description: First Aladdin hardcover edition. | New York : Aladdin, 2021. | Series: The blackthorn key | Summary: In 1666, after four months away, friends Christopher Rowe, Tom, and Sally return to London triumphantly but, guided by coded riddles, face a conspiracy that threatens Christopher, as well as the king himself.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020040952 (print) | LCCN 2020040953 (eBook)
ISBN 9781534484566 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781534484580 (eBook)
Subjects: CYAC: Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. | Ciphers—Fiction. | Apprentices—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | Secret societies—Fiction. | London—History—17th century—Fiction. | Great Britain—History—Charles II, 1660–1685—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.S26 Tr 2021 (print) | LCC PZ7.1.S26 (eBook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020040952
LC eBook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020040953
