The Clerk's Tale (Sister Frevisse Medieval Mysteries) - Hardcover

Frazer, Margaret

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0425183246 ISBN 13: 9780425183243

Publisher: Berkley Hardcover, 2002

Synopsis

A MAN HATED BY HIS WIFE, HIS CITY... AND HIS KILLER

In Margaret Frazer's latest medieval mystery, the "pious and perceptive" (New York Times) Dame Frevisse accompanies her prioress on a visit of mercy to a nunnery. St. Mary's nunnery is a place of prayer and healing for women - so it is surprising to see a man sprawled out in the cloister garden. Dead. Less surprising, to Dame Frevisse, was the identity of the victim: Master Montfort was not particularly liked by anyone in the town of Goring. Even his own wife and clerk despised him. And as royal escheator he was trying to settle a heated dispute between a wealthy woman and her supposed nephew.

Now Dame Frevisse must step in and untangle the fortunes and felonies in a rivalry of wealth, family, and politics. But the true challenge will be putting aside her own feelings and serving justice for the murder of an unjust man...

"The devout yet human Dame Frevisse is back... another well-wrought tale of intrigue and murder. History aficionados will delight and fans will rejoice that the devout yet human Dame Frevisse is back...." - Publishers Weekly

"A wonderful series. Frevisse, with her common sense and humor and tang of salt, is one of my favorite sleuths." (Sharon Kay Penman, author of The Queen's Man)

"Meticulous detail that speaks of trustworthy scholarship and a sympathetic imagination." (The New York Times)

"Full of the richness of the fifteenth century...Margaret Frazer's tales are charmingly and intelligently contrived." (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

About this title

About the Author:

Margaret Frazer was a finalist for an Edgar Award for Best Original Paperback for both The Servant’s Tale and The Prioress’ Tale. The Sister Frevisse series includes The Novice’s Tale, The Servant’s Tale, The Outlaw’s Tale, The Bishop’s Tale, The Boy’s Tale, The Murderer’s Tale, The Prioress’ Tale, The Maiden’s Tale, The Reeve’s Tale, and The Squire’s Tale. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

From Publishers Weekly:

Edgar-nominee Frazer delivers another well-wrought tale of intrigue and murder in her 11th novel (after 2001's The Squire's Tale) to feature nun and amateur sleuth Dame Frevisse. Here our heroine travels with the prioress of St. Frideswide's priory to the town of Goring, where on arrival they learn that Master Montfort has been murdered in the cloister garden of St. Mary's. (The jacket art nicely depicts the scene of the crime.) Montfort's son asks for Frevisse's aid in finding the murderer, which proves no easy task. Montfort, escheater assigned to settle a dispute over the inheritance of certain properties, wasn't liked by anyone, including his wife and clerk. Delving into the relationships of those connected to the victim and those involved in the inheritance dispute, Frevisse uncovers a complex case. Another death brings all the suspects together for a dramatic and surprising conclusion. As usual, Frazer vividly recreates the medieval world through meticulous attention to historical detail. From spectacles to wimples, to the kidney dagger that killed Montfort and the Goring river ferry now replaced by a bridge, she exhibits remarkable scholarship. The story, like others in the series, alternates between the points-of-view of Frevisse and the title character, here Master John Gruesby, the mild-mannered clerk whose security rests in his ink pots and papers. While some may find the evolution of the plot slow, history aficionados will delight in every page and committed fans will rejoice that the devout yet human Dame Frevisse is back.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0425183246
• ISBN 13: 9780425183243
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320