The Mapmaker

This is a lovely novel that details the historical life of Andrea Bianco, a mapmaker, native of Venice. The book opens when he is a slave on a Turkish pirate galley. His fellow slaves know him as El Hakim, the knowledgeable one. As he is on the pirate galley, his thoughts frequently turn to his love, Angelita. One day he is left unchained from the galley and a Portuguese galleon approaches. Andrea makes a break for it and warns the galleon as the galley is preparing to ram the galleon. He is fished out of the water and retained as Leonor di Peristrello's slave. He is taken back to Portugal, pleading and bargaining his way out of slavery by promises of the navigational device the El Kemal, that lets him mark latitude with precision. In time, he becomes attracted to Leonor. He also puts together that his brother Mattei, took the family business and married his sweetheart, Angelita. He makes some voyages. The most notable voyage is his one to Antillia. Upon his return he goes to meet his Angelita. He is given drugged wine, discovering that Mattei wants him dead and that Angelita is a greedy, no-good girl. Mattei wants the secret of the El Kemal device. Andrea manages to fight out of the situation. In the ensuing fight, Matei kills Angelita is and is captured. Matei is taken and sent back to Venice to the authorities. He realizes that he loves Leonor and decides to marry her. He also decides to open the secret of the El Kemal and give it to all sailors.