This is a great first novel with a really interesting plot and characters that appeal.The frisson of gothic throughout is fun and keeps you in suspense. Plus, a magpie, who can resist ( )

Twenty-one-year-old Pandora “Dora” Blake lives and works in her late parents' antiquities shop in Georgian London. Her parents had been renowned antiquarians specializing in Grecian artifacts and had made their living excavating tombs in South-Eastern Europe. Their untimely death in a mishap during an excavation twelve years ago left Dora orphaned and under the care of her unscrupulous and corrupt uncle Hezekiah Blake who promptly took over the shop and is responsible for its present state of disrepute, dealing mostly in forgeries and objects with not much historical significance. Dora aspires to be a jewelry designer and spends time honing her craft with her faithful pet magpie Hermes by her side, despite the constant beratement and ridicule of her uncle who would rather be rid of her.

One day her uncle acquires a mysterious crate and stores it in the basement of the shop under lock and key. Hezekiah’s obsession with the object and strange sounds coming from behind the locked door of the basement fuel Dora’s curiosity and she manages to trick her uncle and enter the basement and is fascinated by what she sees. The crate contained a rare Grecian jar or “pithos” in pristine condition with images of Greek mythological figures across its surface.

“There is a sudden sigh, a hum, a fluttering. It comes not from behind but in front of her, from within the vase, and Dora hears all at once its siren call, its darkling plea. It is the hush of wind, the whisper of waves, the music of grief, and she cannot help it, she cannot resist. Dora lifts the lid.”

The intricate patterns on the artifact inspire Dora’s new designs that she hopes will attract the interest of local jewelers who up until then haven't been too impressed with her sketches. To find out more about the pithos and its origins she enlists the help of bookbinder and aspiring antiquarian Edward Lawrence, who expresses a scholarly interest in the same, in hopes that his research into this mysterious artifact would earn him a place with the Society of Antiquaries, an endeavor in which he has been unsuccessful so far. It also appears that the pithos has brought with it a bout of bad luck to those involved in the acquisition- the Coombes brothers who extracted it from a shipwreck are each afflicted with strange injuries and illnesses that won’t heal and Hezekiah incurs an injury while transporting it to his shop which also seems to fester. Together as Dora and Edward dig deeper into the origin and history of the pithos and also try to figure out how it ended up in Hezekiah's possession, they uncover much about Hezekiah’s nefarious dealings as well as the secrets and myth surrounding the pithos and how it connects to Dora and her family.

Susan Stokes-Chapman's Pandora is an impressive debut novel. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story with its historical backdrop of Georgian England, a cast of interesting characters, engaging narrative and a mystery with the Greek myth of Pandora at its core. The prose is elegant, the story is well-paced and the setting is quaint yet atmospheric. I found the segments detailing facets of the antiquarian trade and illegal practices in the sale of valuable artifacts prevalent in that era very interesting. The cover design of the physical book is stunning and worthy of display. I would definitely recommend this novel to fans of historical fiction who don't mind a bit of fantasy and myth thrown in for good measure. ( )

couldn't get into it. Main character was unlikeable. May try again later ( )

Dora’s parents died in an archaeological dig when she was but a child and now as a woman almost grown, she lives in her parent’s former antiquities shop in London with her uncle. Although he has been distant her whole life, recently he has become even more secretive and Dora cannot help but think it is tied to whatever was delivered to the shop basement. Then there is Edward Lawrence - who is convinced by a mysterious man that Dora will be able to help him achieve his dream: admittance into a prestigious historical society. So these two are thrown together to discover Dora’s uncle's mystery before more tragic events befall those around them.

The premise of this story was awesome and original, but it was bogged down with over dramatic writing. That being said, it did pick up a bit in the second half and the plot itself was so compelling that I felt I had to keep reading. I truly liked Dora, Edward and his mystery were harder to get into and ultimately, to follow, (I think there were too many mysteries wrapped up in mysteries here for my liking?) and some of the other bit characters were intriguing. But there were a lot of tangential storylines that didn’t necessarily coalesce. ( )

Since the deaths of her parents when she was a child, Pandora Blake has lived with her uncle, a nasty man who took over his brother's antiquarian shop and has been making shady deals, selling fakes and possibly illegally acquired objects. Her only friend is a pet magpie named Hermes. Pandora, a talented artist, dreams of escaping by making her living as a jewelry designer. She discovers a pithos--a very large Greek vase engraved with mythological scenes--hidden in the basement and enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a bookbinder and amateur antiquarian, to learn more about it. Edward has long sought membership in the Antiquarian Society and hopes that his research, along with Pandora's drawings of the engravings, will gain him entry.

This book is primarily a historical mystery (hence I don't want to give away too much), but it also has a lot of Dickensian elements and a bit of romance. Hezekiah is the perfect Victorian villain, aided by the Coombes brothers and his housekeeper/lover Lottie. There are also several interesting upper class characters, including Cornelius Ashmole, Edward's friend and benefactor; Sir William Hamilton (who turns out to have saved Dora's life) and his scandalous wife Emma; and Lady Latimer, an aristocratic hostess who shows interest in both the pithos and Dora's jewelry designs. Overall, I enjoyed this one, although it took a while to get through its 400+ pages. ( )