Found in Paris, an old, long neglected book that purports to be the journal of one Henry Howard turns Michael Devon's world upside down. Within its tattered pages, Michael finds a rich tableau of mid-sixteenth century life, experienced with all of the wonder and sense of adventure of a teen-aged boy at the brink of manhood. A story of improbable love, loyalty, friendship and courage emerges, set in the tumultuous events of the France of Catherine de Medici and Nostradamus. Woven within this narrative is the story of an emerging poetic sensibility, coupled with an uncanny ability to bring to life a richly imaginative world. Howard provides a subtle sprinkling of linguistic tropes that suggests, in its early stages, the rich language of Shakespeare. The Fall of a Sparrow is a book about language, the beauty of its texture, the force of its eloquence, and the music of its cadences.