A Bed of Earth: The Secret Books of Venus

The third book in Tanith Lee's compelling series based on alchemy and the elements focuses on the element of earth. It is a haunting journey to a parallel version of sixteenth-century Venice, where a fierce territorial rivalry between two noble families-the della Scorpias and the Barbarons-unearths a supernatural force from beneath the placid surface of the canals and rotting understructure of the city. The struggle between the two families for space on the Isle of the Dead, the overcrowded burial ground for generations of Venetian nobility, becomes more and more heated, and fourteen-year-old Meralda della Scorpia is forced to pay the ultimate price. But as the years pass on, parties complicit in her disappearance-from both houses-begin to suffer the consequences in a series of shocking deaths that could emanate from none other than a supernatural foe. As these bizarre events throw the city into a panic, a humble apprentice gravedigger is left to sort out the mysteries-an effort that will enable him to unearth the secrets of his own shadowy past. In this “deliciously creepy” novel by the Bram Stoker Award winner, two feuding families face supernatural vengeance in a parallel 16th-century Venice (Publishers Weekly). In the City of Venus, two noble families—the della Scorpias and the Barbarons—have been locked in a bitter dispute over burial grounds on the overcrowded Isle of the Dead. But it is fourteen-year-old Meralda della Scorpia who pays the ultimate price for their rivalry. As years pass, parties complicit in her disappearance begin to suffer the consequences. Their shocking deaths can only mean one thing: A supernatural force has been unearthed from the city’s rotting understructure. As these bizarre events throw the city into a panic, a humble apprentice gravedigger is left to sort out the mysteries and subdue the ancient terror that threatens to destroy the entire republic. A Bed of Earth is a haunting journey to a parallel version of sixteenth-century Venice, where a fierce territorial rivalry between two noble families unearths a supernatural force from beneath the placid surface of the canals and rotting understructure of the city. The struggle between the two families for space on the Isle of the Dead, the overcrowded burial ground for generations of Venetian nobility, boils over and a fourteen-year-old girl is forced to pay the ultimate price. As the years pass on, parties complicit in her disappearance begin to suffer the consequences in a series of shocking deaths. A humble apprentice gravedigger is left to sort out the mysteries and subdue the ancient terror that threatens to destroy the entire republic