The road to hell is paved with good intentions... Behind the scenes at the Vatican, the Pope offers David Colwyn, chief executive of the international auctioneering house of Hamilton's, a spectacular deal. In an audacious and provocative scheme to raise money for a crusade against poverty and injustice, the Pope wants David to organise a series of worldwide auctions to sell the fabled treasures of the Vatican: Michelangelo's sculpture, Leonardo da Vinci's painting, Giotto's altarpiece - all will go. Despite protests, the Pope's plan proceeds and the world watches as David, in the glare of publicity, raises millions of pounds. But now powerful forces range in fierce and treacherous opposition - and the Pope's plans go disastrously wrong, perverted by revolutionaries and international criminals. Soon a furious battle of power politics rages, a battle that can end only in a bloody and shocking climax . . . 'Vatican Vendetta's real edge is that it could be next week's news.' - Daily Mail 'Peter Watson's imaginative near-future thriller stands out . . . classy entertainment.' - The Evening Standard 'Non-stop action, an incredible vortex of fights and frauds.' - The Guardian Peter Watson was for many years a journalist, on the staffs of The Sunday Times, The Times and the Observer. He has also written for a number of magazines, including Punch, the Spectator and Connoisseur, and his collecting column is syndicated around the world. In 1982, after disguising himself as an art dealer, he exposed a gang of art smugglers who were stealing old master paintings in Italy and selling them in New York and London. The courier of the gang was a Roman Catholic priest attached to the Vatican's mission to the United Nations. Peter Watson's account of the adventure, published in Britain as Double Dealer and in America as The Caravaggio Conspiracy, won a Gold Dagger Award from the Crime Writers' Association, and the BBC TV film of the book was nominated for an Emmy. He lives in London where his recreations are opera, fishing and cricket.
Description:
The road to hell is paved with good intentions... Behind the scenes at the Vatican, the Pope offers David Colwyn, chief executive of the international auctioneering house of Hamilton's, a spectacular deal. In an audacious and provocative scheme to raise money for a crusade against poverty and injustice, the Pope wants David to organise a series of worldwide auctions to sell the fabled treasures of the Vatican: Michelangelo's sculpture, Leonardo da Vinci's painting, Giotto's altarpiece - all will go. Despite protests, the Pope's plan proceeds and the world watches as David, in the glare of publicity, raises millions of pounds. But now powerful forces range in fierce and treacherous opposition - and the Pope's plans go disastrously wrong, perverted by revolutionaries and international criminals. Soon a furious battle of power politics rages, a battle that can end only in a bloody and shocking climax . . . 'Vatican Vendetta's real edge is that it could be next week's news.' - Daily Mail 'Peter Watson's imaginative near-future thriller stands out . . . classy entertainment.' - The Evening Standard 'Non-stop action, an incredible vortex of fights and frauds.' - The Guardian Peter Watson was for many years a journalist, on the staffs of The Sunday Times, The Times and the Observer. He has also written for a number of magazines, including Punch, the Spectator and Connoisseur, and his collecting column is syndicated around the world. In 1982, after disguising himself as an art dealer, he exposed a gang of art smugglers who were stealing old master paintings in Italy and selling them in New York and London. The courier of the gang was a Roman Catholic priest attached to the Vatican's mission to the United Nations. Peter Watson's account of the adventure, published in Britain as Double Dealer and in America as The Caravaggio Conspiracy, won a Gold Dagger Award from the Crime Writers' Association, and the BBC TV film of the book was nominated for an Emmy. He lives in London where his recreations are opera, fishing and cricket.