Jaquemart, The

A summer of plague in 17th Century Barcelona. A doctor fights the epidemic while a mysterious patient does battle with time itself. An atmospheric historical novel with a metaphysical twist by Juan Miñana. A jaquemart is an automaton, the mechanical statue that strikes the bell with its hammer to mark the hours on a public clock. The intricate clockwork innards that bring it to life are crafted with delicate human skill. Royal watchmaker Juan de Ameno works obsessively on a jaquemart for the clocktower of Barcelona cathedral, a bronze figure with a sinister resemblance to himself that hopes will bring him some kind of immortality. As the Black Cloaked Lady of the plague spreads death through the wards of the Holy Cross Hospital, where monks tend the sick and aromatic bonfires burn in the courtyards, Doctor Buenaventura Deulocrega tries to persuade him to take a gentler, more human approach to the passing of time.