The Clerk's Tale [Hardcover]

The story takes place in 1446, early in the reign of Henry VI. It is a time of truce in the Hundred Years' War. Jeanne d"Arc is dead and the French have not yet begun their push to finally expel the English from their continental holdings. Most of the characters in the story are from the lesser country gentry or bourgeoisie. The doings at the royal court are only a distant rumor, but impinging on this story is the maneuvering for power between the Earl of Suffolk (to whom Frevisse's cousin is married) and Lord Lovell which presages the coming War of the Roses.

Dame Frivisse has been asked to accompany her prioress on a visit to her dying cousin, prioress of St Mary's convent in Goring, Oxfordshire. Upon arriving they find that Master Montfort, Escheator of the county, has been murdered in the garden of the convent. He was at Goring to resolve a contested inheritance. The extended families involved in the dispute are numerous and Montfort was universally disliked, so the list of suspects is long. Montfort's son, Christopher, who is also an official of the crown, has the responsibility for investigating his father's death. He secretly enlists Dame Frivisse, who has a reputation for solving murders, to help him.

The central characters are well-drawn and three-dimensional. I particularly liked Montfort's widow and Lady Agnes, the feisty grandmother of one of the claimants in the property dispute. The reader is treated to a detailed look at life among the minor gentry in medieval England -- especially their food and dress. Dame Frivisse is no jumped-up 21st century female PI in period costume, (as are too many of the detectives in historical mysteries)but is rather a smart, observant, pious nun who has a knack for untangling people's motivations.

In this installment of the series, Frevisse accompanies her prioress on a journey to St Mary's nunnery to visit the prioress's dying sister. Upon arrival, Frevisse is immersed in the aftermath of a murder of a much hated local official which occurred on the nunnery grounds. There is no lack of suspects, and due to her reputation in solving other murders, Dame Frevisse is asked to participate in the investigation.

We learn about the main characters and the property dispute the official was mediating when he was murdered. A love triangle and another murder make the plot interesting.

For me, however, the most interesting aspect of this book was not the murder mystery but the insight into daily life of this time. Frazer focuses on the life of women in the middle ages: nuns, wives and widows.It surprised me to learn, for example, that widows could hold property in their own name and led fairly independent lives. While Frazer's extensive documentation and research was evident in her work, I was a little disappointed in the character of Dame Frevisse. While she has a sharp, inquiring mind, she had few interpersonal relationships so we could see little but her pious character. As a contrast, Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael (of the 12th century in England) has both a colorful past and is a multidimensonal character. However I did enjoy this book and will probably read more of the series.

Another thing I liked about this Dame Fervisse mystery in particular was that we got to appreciate another side to Dame Fervisse -- the part of her that truly appreciates and loves her life of prayer and contemplation, even as she sometimes chafes at the sameness of it all. I know that from time to time, this facet of her character comes through in the previous mystery novels, however I feel that Margaret Frazer really homed in on these somewhat contradictory yearnings that Dame Fervisse has in "The Clerk's Tale." (You esp get to see this in the wonderful manner in which Frazer contrast the hustle and bustle of what goes on in Lady Agnes's manor with the quiet of the chapel at St. Mary's.) I also liked that Frazer had Dame Fervisse really wrestle with the fact that while she abhors that a murder has been committed, she really feels very little sorrow for the victim. This feeling of guilt at the lack of charity she feels for Morys Montfort colours much of the novel and makes it a much darker and more somber tale, and added to the richness of the novel, and makes her quest to see justice done all the more noteworthy.

All in all, I say that "The clerk's Tale" is an excellent read. The mystery may take time to unfold but it is definitely worth the effort of sticking it out. Frazer does an excellent job of making us care for the characters involved and for the outcome of the mystery. A really worthwhile read.