An Edgar Award-nominee, it's second in the Sister Frevisse medieval mystery series based in a nunnery, St. Frideswide, near Prior Byfield outside Oxfordshire. The story revolves around Dame Frevisse, one of the nuns in the year of Our Lord 1434 at Christmastide. rrInterestingly enough, Basset and his traveling troupe appear in this installment (from her Joliffe the Player series that begins with A Play of Isaac ).rrMy TakerIt's a woman's worries about her family. Keeping them safe. It's ignorance about the world, about oneself.rrAnother very good story from Frazer even if the killer was too obvious. Frazer does such a beautiful job of the language and setting a medieval scene. This one provides a more in-depth look at the everyday life of a villein and the constrictions on their movements as well as how they see such "godless", landless men as...gasp…players!rrThe feudal system has its pluses and minuses. In this story, it's rather like a factory job with built-in nepotism. The system keeps carrying you along until the man of the house really screws up. If he dies, his oldest son, if he's old enough or strong enough, inherits and carries on. It's also interesting to read of the horror people tied to the land have of those who are not. Say what you will about our current society and our lack of security, I'd rather this with its freedoms than the ignorance of medieval serfs bound to one small area.rrI did enjoy Dame Frevisse's moves to get around Montfort, although I don't think this story had the dramatic depth as the first one. rrThe StoryrIt's been a struggle for years, Meg having to cope with Barnaby and his boasts, his drinking. This job at the priory is her own secret. The profits hoarded to fund her dream of freedom for her youngest. Now if only her children would cooperate. Help around the cottage. Only Sym is too much like his father with his boasting, quickness to fight, and preference for ale. rrAnd Barnaby is on Lord Lovel's short list. If he can complete this errand successfully, the family has a chance of being kept on...if not…rrBut it seems that Meg and her family's luck may be out when a troupe of players shows up at the priory with a sorely injured Barnaby. And the presence of the players brings out strong feelings on many sides. Feelings that are taken advantage of by a murderer, or murderers, as one by one, people die. Sym's fight with Joliffe at the tavern after Sym and Ellis' altercation on the green. Hewe is spending too much time with the players with an interest in following them. The sister's pain and feelings of joy for God. All contribute to the deaths.rrThe good is the joy Dame Frevisse derives from conversation with intelligent people who have traveled the roads as she did with her parents. The bad is the fear of the unknown, of loss...taking the easy way out when Montfort arrives.rr--That phrase comes to mind…"he can't handle the truth". And, boy, if that ain't the truth about Montfort…!rrThe CharactersrDame Frevisse is in charge of the guesthouse. Domina Edith heads up this order of Benedictine nuns. Dame Claire is their healer. Sister Amicia is frivolous and gossipy. Sister Thomasine is a nun with a true calling (see The Novice's Tale ). Dame Alys is the cellarer in charge of the kitchens and Domina Edith's second-in-command. Not the best choice as she hasn't any patience and a strong preference for complaining. Dame Perpetua is in charge of the novices. Father Henry is the priory priest. Sister Juliana, Sister Lucy, Sister Fiacre whose brother's perfidious desires lost Bassett his sponsor, and Sister Emma.rrAnnie Lauder is the priory's laundress. Roger Naylor is the priory's steward; he does his best for the priory but he conflicts with Dame Frevisse.rrThe Villagers:rMeg struggles to survive the fall down the feudal ladder her husband Barnaby's alcoholism is pushing her and their family. Sym is their oldest son at 16; he seems to be following in daddy's footsteps. Hewe is more his mother's son, but he doesn't want to be a priest.rrGilbey Dunn is their neighbor and has been agitating to be given Barnaby's strips of land. Now he seeks them through Meg.rrThe Players:rThomas Bassett is the leader of this group of players and well understands how unwelcome his type is in any decent house. His daughter Rose tumbles to attract audiences and helps to collect money. Her young son Piers plays angels, demons, and young ones in their performances. Ellis and Joliffe who plays the female roles round out the remaining members of this smaller troupe. Tisbe is with them and has thrown out a shoe.rrThomas Chaucer, Dame Frevisse's uncle-by-marriage, is mentioned. Master Montfort is the king's crowner. He must see the body and ask the questions to determine how someone died and, if someone did it. Hopefully, someone will take him by the hand and lead him to the truth...he prefers the easiest choice.rrThe CoverrThe cover is a repeat of that from The Novice's Tale but with turquoise marble panels. The view through the window is of a leather-covered table showcasing an orange with a knife through it. rrThe title reflects the main character around whom this tale revolves, The Servant's Tale.
I quite enjoyed this medieval murder mystery, part of a series written by Frazer and featuring the clever and intrepid nun, Sister Frevisse who, it happens, was a great-niece of Geoffrey Chaucer. Though this is the second book in the series, it’s the first I’ve read and it stands alone nicely. Steeped in historic detail that deposits you in the period easily (approx 1430s), the pace of life and religiosity of not only the nuns who share the nunnery with Frevisse, but the villagers as well is described. It’s Christmas time, and a group of travelling players seek the hospitality of the Nunnery as the only child among them is sick. So, we discover, are many of the nuns who have succumbed to the time of year, the bitter temperatures, drafty halls and lack of warmth and a lurgy that spreads. Coughs and sneezes punctuate prayers and hymns and Frevisse herself is fighting off a malady and finds the constant sickness of her peers (and herself) frustrating.It’s just as well then that, halfway through the book, something happens to distract her. A young villager, Sym, the son of one of the nunnery’s servants, dies after a fight in a tavern. When she examines the body, which is brought to the nunnery for the rites, the sister discovers that it wasn’t the fight in the tavern that killed this feisty, disagreeable sixteen year old, but another, deeper and deliberate wound. Determined to get to the bottom of this case before the Crowner arrives to investigate, what Sister Frevisse doesn’t expect is the body count to rise – but it does. Suspicion naturally falls on the travelling players, but Sister Frevisse isn’t convinced. Can she overcome the biases of the Crowner and the villagers and see justice done? Or will the travellers pay for a crime they didn’t commit? Or did they? Can she discover the perpetrator before even more people die? This was an easy to read book that was also a little slow. Setting the scene and time took pages and pages – and while the writing is tight and the characters wonderfully drawn, nothing actually happened till almost the halfway point in the book. After that, the action was swifter, but only by comparison. If a reader is looking for a murder mystery (as the book is advertised), they might be disappointed. As an historical novel, however, the book is excellent.
What do You think about The Servant's Tale (1993)?
Interesting perspective on the life of a poor serving woman. But I figured out the killer earlier than I would have liked (I enjoy the suspense of not knowing) and the ending was pretty depressing.
—Sara
The second in the series and the first to introduce the companion series. A troupe of players arrives with an injured man in tow. The injured man is the drunkard husband of a part time worker at the convent. He drunkenly crashed his cart doing himself serious harm. The drunkard son blames the players and the other son wants nothing to do with his mother's plan for him joining the priesthood. Shortly after the death of his father, the son gets in a fight with the players and then he is murdered. One of the players is suspected, but Sister Frevisse isn't buying it. The bumbling crowner is nowhere to be found so she investigates hoping to have the real culprit before the crowner goes on a misguided tear. Did not suspect the killer until the very last murder. Fun cast of characters showing lots of different temperaments.
—Argum
