1491, Cracow, Kingdom of Poland. The 44th year in the reign of Casimir Jagiellon.
Nicolaus Copernicus and his brother Andreas embark on their studies at the University of Cracow. Nicolaus is a bashful young man and a keen scholar; Andreas, a wastrel with a passion for carnal pursuits.
The university is embroiled in scandal when Dr Faustus, an alchemist and royal apothecary, is found hanging over a crucible of boiling tar with a pentagon carved into his chest.
Rumours of demonic agency are rife. The Collegium porter, Bartlomiej, is arrested on suspicion of murder and consorting with the Devil.
Nicolaus is convinced of Bartlomiej’s innocence. He rejects superstition and vows to find the real killer. But even his rational mind is put to the test when his friend Jurgis, a fellow student and a practised astrologer, is murdered and his body desecrated in the same ritualistic way as doctor Faustus’s.
A fire is started at Jurgis’s lodgings and spreads across the city. Panic sets in. Gypsies are blamed, and they are hounded out of town by an angry mob. An exorcist arrives from Rome to free Cracow from demonic possession.
But soon Nicolaus uncovers a man-made conspiracy – a pact that could shake the foundations of the whole kingdom.
A Pact with the Devil by Anna Legat is published on 14 March.
Read Anna’s feature about the real Doctor Faustus.
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