The French Blue by Richard W. Wise

In his historical novel, The French Blue, author Richard Wise tells the amazing story of Jean Baptiste Tavernier, a 17th Century traveler and gem merchant. Son of a cartographer in Paris, he becomes fascinated with gemology and leaves home at an early age to travel to Persia and India to learn about pearls, rubies, and diamonds. He eventually becomes a highly respected gem dealer, buying for Cardinal Richelieu, Louis XIV and other nobles The title refers to his greatest find, an amazing blue diamond that eventually came to be known as the Hope Diamond. Most of the novel describes Tavernier's travels though exotic lands and his dealings with merchants and royalty. Wise does an amazing job of describing the physical conditions of travel, risky at best, and the cultural environments Tavernier has to navigate. The best historical novels whisk you away to another time and place and give you a real sense of being there. Wise is a master at this. I was not familiar with this character before I read the book, and I found it very helpful that he includes an appendix which explains the fictional aspects of the story. If you like historical fiction, this book is a must read. I couldn't put it down!