The
Sempster's Tale
Dame Frevisse Mystery, #15
by Margaret Frazer
Dame Frevisse is in London to arrange for certain funeral vestments to be made following the
murder - or rather execution - of her cousin Alice's husband, the unlamented Duke of Suffolk.
Secretly she also has to recover, hide and then send to Alice a large sum in gold coins,
which are coming to her via the sempster (a mediaeval word for seamstress) who is working
on the vestments. Anne Blakhall has been working as such since the death of her husband
and clandestinely seeing a new man whom she loves. But merchant Daved Weir is a Jew, and
technically there are no Jews in England since their expulsion over two hundred years
earlier. When a body is found marked with Hebrew lettering, fingers begin to point to
a Jewish connection so it is inevitable that Daved will be uncovered.
This is always a fine series with Frazer's attention to detail, fascinatingly
real characters and superb grasp of history but it is seldom actually
exciting - but there is a first time for everything. Every book
has something different to enjoy and that is the new element here,
as well as a look at London during the Jack Cade riots and a look
at how Jews were viewed in those days. Racial and religious prejudice
is never an easy subject to deal with, but by portraying the characters
as warts-and-all as possible they seem like real people. Perhaps
the hot-eyed friar is a cliché, but he is sadly a historically accurate
one. I enjoyed reading about how a woman could be a businessperson
in her own right (the Renaissance has a lot to answer for) in the
Middle Ages, and the tense excitement of the riots had the urgency
and immediacy of a news report. Surely the message here is "nothing
new under the sun", and a topical flavour is imparted by depicting
a time of political unrest and religious intolerance. Top marks
as ever, although the abrupt ending could have been better managed.
Reviews of other titles in this series
The
Servant's Tale, 2
The
Outlaw's Tale, 3
The
Bishop's Tale, 4
The
Prioress’s Tale, 7
The
Bastard’s Tale, 12
The
Hunter's Tale, 13
The
Sempster's Tale, 15
The
Traitor’s Tale, 16
|
The
Book |
Berkley
Prime Crime (Penguin) |
January
2006 |
Hardback |
0425207668 |
Historical
[1450 London] |
More
at Amazon.com US
|| UK |
The
Reviewer |
Rachel
A Hyde |
Reviewed
2006 |
|