One night in 1598, Emperor Rudolf II awakes with a shriek. At the same time, in the Jewish ghetto of Prague, Esther, wife of Meisl, dies in her sleep. These three characters become further intertwined as the plot moves from Rudolf s one love, beauty, to his other love, money. The fortunes of Rudolf and Mordechai Meisl are forever linked by hatred and interest due, finally involving all the servants at court, the citizens of Prague, and the Jews of the ghetto. Within this framework, Perutz unfolds 14 closely linked stories, each told centuries later by Meisl s great-great-great-great nephew, a medical student and tutor in Prague. This is Perutz s tenth novel, written prior to his final work, Leonardo s Ju das ( LJ 6/15/89), and it bears all the marks of his continuing quest for historical detail and insistence upon making the past a vivid presence. This welcome translation of an important writer s work is highly recommended.