The seige of Isfahan - Jean-Christophe Rufin

There was once a handsome young doctor named Jean-Baptiste, who cured the ailing Emperor of Abyssinia, outwitted the King of France, made his fortune and eloped with the most beautiful girl in Cairo. Twenty years later Jean-Baptiste is to be found in Isfahan, the capital of Persia. Happily married, prosperous and admired, he nevertheless feels a certain restlessness. Then an unexpected messenger arrives with worrying news. Juremi, the companion of his youth, is a prisoner in Russia, and Jean-Baptiste alone can help.So begins a headlong adventure, one that leads to the court of Peter the Great, to capture by nomads, slavery in Afghanistan, eventual escape and return. Set in the treacherous splendour of the Eastern empires, this subtle, beautifully crafted and luminous sequel to The Abyssinian is historical fiction at its finest.

'An intricate tale of adventure told at a rip-roaring pace, crackling with humour and bouncing with plot-twists' Independent

'Handsome, reckless, libertarian, quick-thinking, and as handy a swordsman as a homeopathist, Jean-Baptiste is a romantic hero par excellence' Observer