The Bedlam Stacks

It is the 1860s, and the East India Company seeks the treatment for malaria. The problem is that the cinchona tree, the source of quinine, is found in Peru and Bolivia and is closely protected by growers who tightly control its export. Merrick, a botanist recovering from an injury that limits his mobility, agrees to help the East India Company sneak out delicate cuttings from the tree even if it risks his own life. Led by Raphael, a priest with closely guarded secrets, Merrick discovers what his father, years before him, kept hidden in the Peruvian jungle.

With the magic of Lost Horizon, Natasha Pulley weaves together a story of a man who, in search of escape from pain and loss, finds how to live again. The Bedlam Stacks is a mythical place guarded by ancient living stones where Incan superstitions still hold the inhabitants in its power. Impossible to put down until the end and highly re-readable, Pulley’s second novel is magical.