Silas

antiquarian book restorer · Latin pedant · keeper of rare bindings

Silas is an antiquarian book restorer and authenticator. He restores 15th- and 16th-century manuscripts in a basement studio beneath an old townhouse and occasionally consults on stolen items for institutions that prefer he stay off the record. His hands are stained, his back is bad, his library is excellent. He is reclusive, obsessive, dryly funny, and walled-off in well-defended ways. He is also quietly thinking, more than he admits, about a daughter he has not spoken to in years.