NICOLAS des Innocents is a bit of a lad. He may be innocent by name, but by nature he likes the ladies and bid a fond farewell to his own innocence a long, long time ago.

Then he meets Claude, the beautiful daughter of his patron Jean Le Viste, a nobleman close to the king who hires him to design six tapestries celebrating his rising status at court.

Nicolas's work takes him away from his new-found love in Paris to the less cosmopolitan city of Brussels, where he moves in with weaver Georges de la Chapelle and his family to complete his mammoth commission.

Georges has a daughter, a beautiful, intriguing girl who needs a man - preferably someone who will be leaving town soon - to do her a special favour. Could Nicolas be that man? Can he help her and get the tapestries completed on time? And what will he do when he learns of his beloved Claude's fate on his return to Paris?

Tracy Chevalier, author of the hugely-popular Girl With A Peal Earring, has come up with another cracker. Packed with twists, turns and sexual intrigue, The Lady And The Unicorn is like a 15th century soap opera, with Nicolas des Innocents as an effete Dirty Den.

Cleverly illustrated with glossy colour endpapers of the original tapestries, now hanging in the Musee National du Moyen-Age in Paris, from which Chevalier's fictional story emerged, this is a beautifully woven piece from start to finish.

Updated: 09:06 Wednesday, July 21, 2004