Cordina

Cordina
Type	Fictional principality/country
Country	Cordina (independent principality)
State
City
Series	Cordina's Royal Family
First appears
Owner

Cordina is a location appearing in the works of Nora Roberts and/or J.D. Robb.

Overview

Cordina is a small, wealthy principality on the Mediterranean coast, ruled for four centuries by the Bisset family, styled "de Cordina." It serves as the primary setting of the Cordina's Royal Family quartet, and is the ancestral homeland of Camilla de Cordina, the heroine of Cordina's Crown Jewel, whose American father, Reeve MacGee, divides her life between the principality and the family's Virginia farm.

Description

Cordina is described as "the tiny country on the sea," its land rising in tiers of hills from the water's edge, with pink, white, and dull-gold houses tumbling down the rises and jutting out along a rocky promontory. Flowers grow in abundance among the cliffs and rock, and regal palms line the balmy coastline. The country has resisted modern overdevelopment, preserving its centuries-old character rather than giving way to skyscrapers.

The royal palace stands at the country's highest point, facing the sea, with white stone walls, battlements, parapets, and towers rising from the cliffside. It was built as much for defense as for beauty — its cliffside position makes it effectively unassailable from the sea, and its guards wear bold red uniforms. Inside, the palace has sparkling marble floors, elaborate flower arrangements, a Gold Parlor used for receiving guests, family quarters with private sitting rooms, and extensive formal gardens, including a rose garden with more than fifty varieties (known as La Promenade de Rose) and a separate walled garden. The palace also has stables, and a third-floor guest wing where visiting nobility, such as the Earl and Countess of Brigston, are housed.

Cordina's port has historically made the country rich. Despite its fairy-tale image, the country's history includes real violence: a terrorist campaign against the royal family within recent memory included the kidnapping of Camilla's mother, Gabriella, and an assassination attempt that wounded her aunt, Eve (then Eve Hamilton). By the time of Cordina's Crown Jewel, the country and royal family are at peace, though that peace is described as fragile.

Cordina holds a prominent annual social event, the Autumn Ball, which draws international guests and is a centerpiece of the royal social calendar.

Associated Characters

• Camilla de Cordina
• Gabriella de Cordina
• Reeve MacGee
• Alexander de Cordina
• Eve de Cordina
• Bennett MacGee
• Adrienne de Cordina
• Delaney Caine

Appearances

• Affaire Royale (1986)
• Command Performance (1987)
• The Playboy Prince (1988)
• Cordina's Crown Jewel (2002)

Notes

• Cordina's setting draws clear parallels to the real-world Principality of Monaco and the House of Grimaldi.
• The ruling family's surname is Bisset, though family members are formally styled "de Cordina."
• The capital city itself is not named within Cordina's Crown Jewel; only the palace and its surrounding hillside town are described.