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The Blood Stone Paperback – 27 Jan. 2014

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 19 ratings

One diamond – a world of spies, death and deception.

In Venice, the diamond promises wealth and prestige to greedy Bernardo Pagliarin.

At the court of the Great Moghul in Agra, it holds the key to the throne itself.

For Filippo and his family, the stone is worth far more. It could bring their father back from the dead.


From the bustling markets of seventeenth-century Venice to the majestic palaces of Hindustan, acclaimed author Jamila Gavin takes the reader on an unforgettable quest across desert, sea and mountains.

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Product description

About the Author

Jamila’s first book, The Magic Orange Tree, was published in 1979 and she has since been writing steadily, producing critically acclaimed novels and collections of short stories.

She has been shortlisted for many of the major children’s book awards, including the Smarties Award and the Guardian Award.
Coram Boy won the Children’s Whitbread Award and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, before being adapted for the stage. The Wheel of Surya, part one of the Surya trilogy, was runner up for the Guardian Children's Fiction Award, and the other two titles were also shortlisted.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tamarind (27 Jan. 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1848531222
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1848531222
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 9 - 11 years
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.9 x 2.6 x 19.8 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 19 ratings

About the author

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Jamila Gavin
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Jamila Gavin was born in Mussoorie, India, in the foothills of the Himalayas. With an Indian father and an English mother, she inherited two rich cultures that ran side by side throughout her life and always made her feel she belonged to both countries. Jamila’s family moved to England when she was 11. She studied music and worked for the BBC before having a family of her own and becoming a children’s writer, wanting to reflect the multicultural world in which she and her children now lived. Author of Blackberry Blue, The Wheel of Surya and the Whitbread Award-winning Coram Boy, Gavin’s new YA novel Never Shall I Ever Forget You will be published by Farshore in July 2022.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
19 global ratings

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 January 2014
    Is a master at story telling, riviting, have only removed from my Kindle list because I have the BOOK itself instead - Highly reccommend. Anita T
  • Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 June 2014
    The story is a bit contrived, but I'm a childhood Jamila Gavin fan; especially the books 'Coram Boy' and the series based in India. This author's books are very good for children.
  • Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 July 2018
    Excellent
  • Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 August 2012
    Essentially this book is an adventure and I love adventures. Especially ones set in the past and this is set in the 15th century so I had very high hopes. The story follows Filippo who is a teenage boy from Venice. He has to go to Hindustan to rescue his father years after he went missing and brings with him a very valuable diamond that he plans to use to barter for his father's life. I really enjoyed his adventure through different countries and the suspense built into not knowing whether he could trust a number of other rather mysterious characters that seem to be following him. You can't tell if they are good/bad until right at the end and even then it isn't black and white because everyone has mixed motives and vested interests. I really enjoyed it and having a quick peruse of a couple of other Amazon reviews I have just found out the following: the story is set in 15th Century Venice and ultimately in the Hindustan of the Moghul Emperor Shah Jehan (who built the Taj Mahal). Filippo's father Geronimo Veraneo was a real person at the Emperor's court and his memorial can be seen at the Taj Mahal. It was this memorial which inspired the book although the story is fictional. Wow. I didn't realise the inspiration for this story was found in the Taj Mahal. That makes it even better in my eyes!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 January 2015
    wonderful
  • Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 February 2004
    I was just at a book store when I first saw this book. It looked good but not more than that. When I finished the book I was literally in tears because I was so mad that the book was finished. In this book you laugh you cry you stay in suspence, it's unbelivable. It was my firt Jamila Gavin boook but now im reading Coram Boy.The Blood stone is now one of my favorite books.
    P.S my favorite carachter is Nore
    Love Ashley
    4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Placeholder
    5.0 out of 5 stars FANTABULOUS QUALITY AND STORY
    Reviewed in India on 12 September 2016
    Brilliant story and very good condition of book.
  • Ohioan
    3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed
    Reviewed in the United States on 15 July 2012
    I read several glowing reviews of this book before I purchased it, but I was disappointed in the story, mainly because I wanted to empathize with Filippo, the young boy who is the hero of the story, but couldn't. The writing style was clinical and detached and never got me to empathize with the main character. Although I wanted to get emotionally involved in the story, I couldn't. It read like a travelogue and seemed unreal, not rooted in time or place.
  • UR.
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in India on 14 June 2016
    Excellent story but this bookseller BookLabs cheats. It's not hardcover but a cheap pirated paperback.