In the heart of Rome, the conclave is choosing a new Pope, and the man elected will determine the fate of the Eternal City.
Astrologer Mia and her fiancé Jacopo, a physician at the Santo Spirito Hospital, plan to marry, but the election result is a shock and changes everything.
As Pope Innocent X takes the throne, he brings along his sister-in-law, the formidable Donna Olimpia Maidalchini, known as La Papessa – the female Pope. When Mia is offered a position as her personal astrologer, she and Jacopo find themselves on opposite sides of the most powerful family in Rome.
Mia is determined to protect her mother, Giulia Tofana, a renowned poisoner. But with La Papessa obsessed with bringing Giulia to justice, Mia and Jacopo’s love is put to the ultimate test.
The Cameo Keeper by Deborah Swift is published on 11 November, 2025. It’s the fourth in her Giulia Tofana series.
Deborah has written several features for us about the historical background to her novels, including:
Mask wearing and crime in Renaissance Venice (The Fortune Keeper)
Slashing the face: punishing unfaithful women in Italy (The Silkworm Keeper)
A different kind of WWII resistance
In search of the animals in the Great Fire of London
And so to bed – a goodbye to Pepys’s diary
Luck or lottery? Choosing your valentine in the 17th century
Health and Hellfire: Personalising the Plague in 17th-century London
Animating Pepys’s Women
You may also like to read Giulia Tofana: poisoner, murderer, saviour? by Cathryn Kemp
If you enjoy historical fiction, have a look at our round-up of over 200 books published in 2025 for many more ideas.
