The Lammas Feast (Severn House Large Print) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Kate Sedley (Author)

Book Description

Series: Severn House Large Print | Publication Date: April 1, 2003

The eleventh in the highly acclaimed Roger the Chapman series. It's July 1478, and business is good for Bristol's bakers during the lead up to Lammastide - 'Loaf-mass', the ancient harvest festival. But the shady Jasper Fairbrother's baking days are over when he's found face down with a knife in his back. Suspicion immediately falls on the mysterious Breton who'd arrived that day and had been seen having an argument with Fairbrother. But when it emerges that the Breton is also a suspected Lancastrian spy, Roger the Chapman wonders if suspicion of murder is merely a convenient pretext for the authorities to hunt down the Breton. True, there is no reason for Roger to take an interest in the case, and should he when he ought to be pedding his wares to provide for his new baby boy? But his curiosity and sense of justice is piqued - and before he finds out who murdered the baker, he is to become more than a little personally involved as some of the things nearest and dearest to his heart come under threat.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Roger the Chapman looks into the stabbing death of Jasper Fairbrother, a Bristol baker, as Lammastide ("Loaf-mass") approaches in Kate Sedley's 11th medieval mystery, The Lammas Feast, after The Saint John's Fern. As usual, Sedley offers an absorbing view of 15th-century English society and politics, along with an intricate plot to keep readers guessing who really did in Fairbrother.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Sedley's eleventh installment in her series featuring Roger the Chapman is exceptionally well written and wonderfully entertaining. Set in the late fifteenth century, the book presents an engaging combination of good humor, eye-opening descriptions of the living conditions, and a cast of characters who are as appealing as they are authentic. Roger the Chapman makes his living as a peddler but has an unusual talent for finding trouble. He's already been involved in several "cases" and has incurred the wrath of the local sheriff by sticking his nose in where it's not wanted. But when local baker Jasper Fairbrother is murdered, Roger has to know who killed the man. Then three other murders take place in quick succession, and Roger is convinced they are connected. He's determined to solve the case before anyone else dies. Fortunately, his nose for trouble sniffs out the unexpected and quite shocking solution to the case, and even the reluctant sheriff has to admit that Roger's deductive powers have saved the day. A fine addition for all mystery collections. Emily Melton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0727872249
• ISBN-13: 978-0727872241
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,660,351 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Roger at his best, June 18, 2004

By 

D. F. Curran "dfcurran" (Missoula, MT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lammas Feast (A Roger the Chapman medieval mystery) (Hardcover)

I am a die-hard fan. I love Roger and his world. This book is one of the truely great Roger the Chapman novels as the plot is well twisted, and I did not find myself, as I sometimes do (i.e.Nine Men Dancing)--wishing Roger would figure this one out, and get on with his life.
But then again Roger's life is interesting, and that is what keeps me reading.

4.0 out of 5 stars For those who enjoy the periods before 1700, May 8, 2008

By 

Truthdancer "Truthdancer" (Pflugerville, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lammas Feast (Severn House Large Print) (Hardcover)

Its a good story with some interesting characters. Your vocabulary will grow, given the "words and wording of the time" and its an excellent picture of an unusually cruel period that made way for disease, political upheaval and a typical verdict of capital punishment by way of torture. Either, one tried to go about his/her business, unnoticed, or played a very clever game to survive. The filth of living in a city, or town, was the price one paid for safety in numbers--if safety could be found at all.