Ring of Lions
"Most of the allusions in Ring of Lions are Spanish and Moorish. Its unstated inspirations, however, hail from the tradition of the English novel. Gothic fiction by 1790s British bestseller Ann Radcliffe informs the surprise workings of the title's intriguing lions. Historical fiction of the early 1800s by the sisters Jane and Anna Maria Porter stand behind this work, too, as it in- cludes fictional and real historical characters and nudges readers toward great- er insights about the thorny present and past.
"I was delighted to feel the influence here, too, of A. S. Byatt's Possession (1990). Both it and Dalglish's Ring of Lions draw on the tools of detective fiction, although setting their stories among learned scholars and collectors. Both novels demonstrate that a thirst for knowledge and a penchant for solving puzzles aren't the only burning passions propelling such work." (from the Foreword to the novel by Devoney Looser, author, Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Porter Sisters Who Paved the Way for Austen and the Brontës)
"This was definitely the most engrossing book I have read so far this year, not least because of the setting at the Alhambra and in Cordoba. The author has done a masterful job of research and weaves many of her findings into the narrative using four characters to do so. The director of the Alhambra, a former FBI agent cum art authenticator, a post doctoral researcher currently serving as assistant to the director, and an American student who may or may not be descended from a medieval Islamic scholar and storyteller known as "the Man from Madrid" all narrate the story at various times. The intersection of Christian, Moslem and Jewish traditions in Renaissance Spain is both fascinating and amazing, especially when considering how difficult these three monotheistic traditions find it to co-exist today. All respect to the Moors." (Reviewed on Goodreads by Deb.)