This Door of the Seas

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About the Book

“An immersive tale of betrayal and injustice that reverberates with a howl of anguish three centuries old.”—Chris Brookmyre, author of The Cracked Mirror

From internationally bestselling author Val McDermid and Geographer Royal of Scotland Jo Sharp, a heart-wrenching novella about an ill-fated colonial scheme that bankrupted a country and forever altered the trajectory of history

At the end of the seventeenth century, a brave group of Scots sail for a jungle-coastline on the other side of the world, the junction between North and South America. Their objective: to establish a trading colony that would assure their

hard-strapped country’s future, as the East India Company had done for England. Their plan? To open a passage through Panama, a true “door of the seas and key to the universe.” Instead, what begins as a dream of prosperity quickly turns into a nightmare that bankrupts an already impoverished nation and propels it towards political union with England.

Written as a series of letters home from expedition scientist Dr. James Wallace to his wife Eliza and Sir Robert Sibbald, Scotland’s first Geographer Royal, This Door of the Seas offers a devastating account of the infamous Darien Scheme, the colonial misadventure that completely changed the history of Scotland.

About the Authors

Val McDermid’s bestselling novels have won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller, and the Crime Writers’ Association’s Gold Dagger and Cartier Diamond Award for outstanding achievement. The Karen Pirie novels have been adapted into an Edgar Award–nominated ITV/BritBox show. She is also a five-time finalist for the Edgar Award, including Fact Crime nominee Forensics and, most recently, the Sue Grafton Memorial Award nominee Past Lying. She lives in Scotland.

Jo Sharp is Professor of Geography at the University of St. Andrews with expertise in geopolitics, global health, feminism, and international development. She has over 100 publications, including 13 books. Jo has been awarded medals from both the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. She was named the Geographer Royal for Scotland in 2022 – the first woman to hold this title – and it was her investigation into the first person to hold this role, Sir Robert Sibbald in 1682, that led her to This Door of the Seas.

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Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (January 5, 2027)
  • Runtime: 4 hours and 30 minutes
  • ISBN13: 9798347210640

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