The Journeyer

The Journeyer is a historical novel about Marco Polo, written by Gary Jennings and first published in 1984.

Plot introduction

Marco is the only heir to the wealthy Polo family of Venice. Unsupervised, he freely roams the streets and canals of the city getting in trouble. When he is falsely accused of murdering the husband of his lover, he is exiled from Venice and travels east with his father and uncle to the court of Kubilai Khan, Mongol emperor of the orient. Marco remains in the empire for nearly twenty years and returns home as a wealthy man. His adventures become legendary.

Plot summary

Marco Polo is the last of the illustrious Polo family left in Venice, after his father and uncles moved abroad, leaving him and his mother behind. His mother dies when he is seven, and he becomes increasingly unruly as he is raised by family servants like Zia Zulia, and their black slave Michiel. Marco becomes friends with Venice's "boat children", a group of orphans who live on the canals of Venice, and becomes particularly close to Ubaldo and his sister Doris. Marco becomes even more uncontrollable when Zia Zulia and Michiel are caught sleeping together and subsequently run away.