The Clerk’s Tale
82. The Clerk’s Tale by Margaret Frazer (Historical Mystery) 309 p.
When Dame Frevisse accompanies her prioress to St. Mary’s nunnery to visit Domina Elizabeth’s dying relative, neither lady is expecting to find that a man—a man Dame Frevisse knows—has lately been murdered in the infirmary garden. That Master Montford, lately crowner and now subescheator, in charge of ruling on uncertain inheritances, should have died by violence is no surprise to Dame Frevisse or to anyone else. The late Montford, who made so many enemies that practically anyone might have had a motive to kill him, is little mourned even in his own family. Even Dame Frevisse, believer in truth and justice, can summon little enthusiasm for discovering the dead man’s murderer.
I quite enjoyed The Clerk’s Tale, which is set in medieval England, in January of 1446. Dame Frevisse is unexpectedly convincing as a Benedictine nun of the period, without the anachronistic beliefs and behaviours that a lesser author might have given her in order to make her more sympathetic to a modern audience. Which is not to say that she isn’t a sympathetic character, because I liked her a great deal, but she’s very much a product of her period. Too many characters in historical fiction might as well be modern characters in period costumes, but none of the characters in The Clerk’s Tale suffer from that defect.
The mystery is a good one, and the solution is satisfying and makes perfect sense. I don’t know enough about medieval England to say whether the historical setting is accurately represented or not, but the author’s note that follows the story suggests that Frazer knows the period intimately and that she has taken pains to be faithful to 15th-century England. The Clerk’s Tale is well worth reading for any fan of mysteries or historical fiction.
Books read: 82/100 (82%)
Pages read: 24,797/25,000 (99%)
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2007, Dame Frevisse, Margaret Frazer
