The Mercy Seller: A Novel [Paperback]

Brenda Rickman Vantrease (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2008

In the fifteenth century, with religious intolerance spreading like wildfire across Europe, Englishwoman Anna Bookman and her grandfather, Finn, earn a living in Prague by illuminating precious books---including forbidden translations of the Bible. As their secret trade grows ever more hazardous, Finn urges Anna to seek sanctuary in England. Her passage abroad, however, will be anything but easy.

Meanwhile, a priest in London, Brother Gabriel, dutifully obeys church doctrine by granting pardons . . . for a small fee. But when he is sent to France in disguise to find the source of the banned manuscripts finding their way to England, he meets Anna, who has set up a temporary stall as a bookseller. She has no way of knowing that the rich merchant frequenting her stall is actually a priest---just as he does not know that he has met the woman for whom he will renounce his church.

It is only in England, which is far from the safe harbor once imagined, that their dangerous secrets will be revealed.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this overly complex but engaging sequel to The Illuminator, Friar Gregory, a 15th-century priest and seller of indulgences, is enlisted to root out an alleged heretic, but his devotion to the church can't override his misgivings. When the unscrupulous Archbishop Arundel suspects Sir John Oldcastle of being in league with the heretical Lollards (they distribute—to the horror of Rome—vernacular translations of the scripture), he dispatches Gregory to build a case. As Gregory looks for evidence, a parallel story unfolds in Prague, where the illuminator from Vantrease's first novel is now an old man whose adult granddaughter, Anna, he has trained as a copyist in the Lollard tradition. As persecution of the Lollards intensifies, Anna is dispatched to England (and Oldcastle's protection). Anna's and Gregory's paths cross in France, where the friar finds his vows at the breaking point, with repercussions that propel the rest of the story. The story is carefully researched, but the establishment of so many characters and the social and religious complexities of the time overwhelms the first half of the novel. Vantrease tells an engaging story and paints a vivid picture of 15th-century Europe, but what she doesn't manage to achieve is a balance between the two. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Critical Acclaim for The Mercy Seller:
“By turns exotic, mystical, regal, and romantic.” ---Book Page
“Vantrease tells an engaging story and paints a vivid picture of fifteenth-century Europe.”
---Publishers Weekly
“Readers who liked Vantrease’s debut, The Illuminator, will be pleasantly surprised by this satisfying sequel. . . . The same lovely detail and attention to historical realities of the first book are here maintained.”
---Library Journal
“Bigger, broader, and even better than its predecessor.”
---Nashville Scene

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312377851
• ISBN-13: 978-0312377854
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #972,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brenda Rickman Vantrease is a former English teacher and librarian from Nashville, Tennessee. Her first novel, THE ILLUMINATOR, which was published on her 60th birthday, was translated into fourteen languages and received a starred review in PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY. Her life-long passion for English history and love of story make historical fiction a natural habitat for her imagination.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mercy! This is One Good Story!, March 27, 2007

By 

Margaret - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mercy Seller: A Novel (Hardcover)

This follow-up to The Illuminator is that rarest of books: a compelling sequel that won't leave readers who missed the first novel behind. The story follows Anna, the grandchild of Finn (the Illuminator of Vantrease's wonderful debut novel), as she carries on his work, disseminating an English translation of the Bible - in circumstances as dangerous as those her grandfather faced. Set in Prague, and in France and England, with engaging characters (particularly Anna and Sir John!), a plot that rocks along, and historic detail that left me feeling I really knew what life was like back then, this one kept me reading late into the night!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well drawn historical fiction, August 1, 2007

By 

Bookphile (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Mercy Seller: A Novel (Hardcover)

After reading Vantrease's The Illuminator, I could not put my finger on what it was about the book that I found vaguely unsatisfying. After having read this one, I now know: I don't find her characters very believable. There aren't any characters in this book that I outright disliked--with the exception of Archbishop Arundel and I think one would be hard pressed to find anyone who thinks him a nice guy--but I felt like they were rather flat in general, more designed to play a certain role than people in their own right. Anna was sympathetic enough but at times she was downright shrill and I didn't find Gabriel as sympathetic as I think the author would expect the reader to find him.

As far as characters go, I was most disappointed in the way Little Bek's story was left off. The only real reason I can think of for his presence in the book has to do with a plot point that comes up at the end of the novel. Otherwise, he seemed like the stock pathetic character and Vantrease made him a bit too disposible for my liking.

Vantrease's great strength, though, is in the way she structures her history. It's almost as if she actually was a part of the past. She paints it so vividly that to read one of her novels is to feel as though you are entering another world. I could almost smell the odors she described and hear the sounds of which she wrote. The true strength of her writing is in these lush and sensuous passages and I found this aspect of her work so strong that I enjoyed the book even though I didn't care all that much for the characters--and usually characters are the most important element of a novel for me. Vantrease does an exemplary job of making the past come to life.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She didn't let me down, June 5, 2007

By 

Patricia H. Parker "Bookwoman" (Springfield, Massachusetts United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mercy Seller: A Novel (Hardcover)

Ever since finishing "The Illuminator", I have been waiting for this second novel by Ms. Vantrease to be published. She didn't disappoint me. The writer carries the story of Kathryn and Finn forward in time to 15th Century Prague. This was a time when Reformation ideas were taking hold all across Europe. She touches on the story of Jan Hus who attempted to spread Protestantism and died for his efforts. The clear thinking of the Czechoslovakian people has been shown many times during the centuries but we seldom hear of it. When the forces of evil move to stamp out these liberal ideas, Anna, the granddaughter of Kathryn and Finn, moves back to England. On her trip, we meet Gabriel, a priest who must be one of the most confused and conflicted characters in literature. However, it is all good. Ms. Vantrease also brings in Sir John Oldcastle, who was the model for Shakespeare's Sir John Falstaff. We always think of Falstaff as a Tragicomic character and the life of Sir John Oldcastle will show that this was very true to life.

One of the reasons I picked up the first book was the mention of Julian of Norwich and John Wycliff. Before there was Henry the VIII changing the Church in England, early Reformers such as Julian and Wycliff were laying down the foundation and wrote the books which made the conversion from the Roman Church to the Church of England so simple once Henry was shown how he could use the new theology to get his way. This conversion, in spite of the stops and starts caused by the minirebellions and the reign of Mary Tudor, opened new doors and brought about changes which, in large part, made the world we live in now and certainly helped the United States to develop as it did. Those who built the foundations and the people who followed them are all here demonstrating an era which we don't hear much about.

One of the things I really like about Ms. Vantrease's books is her scholarship, and "The Mercy Seller" combines that scholarship and her ability to spin a fine story. Now I will be looking forward to her next book.