When Sabina, the blind mistress of the Old Priory Guesthouse, accepts the offer of Master Mainard to live exclusively with him, everyone expects that Mainard's wife, Bertrild, would be glad to be rid of him since his face is horribly birthmarked.
This was far from the truth. Bertrild attacks Sabina and demands that Mainard send her back to the whorehouse. Before Mainard and Sabina can decide what to do, Bertrild is murdered, and Mainard is the chief suspect.
Fearful that her lover will be hung for murder, Sabina flees to her old whoremistress, Magdalene la Betarde, for help. Magdalene is no stranger to murder and will use her powerful friends to help the women who work for her, including Sir Bellamy of Itchen, who reunites with Magdalene in unraveling this tangled web of hatred, fear, and blackmail.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
"A Personal Devil is an excellent blend of historical romance and mystery, with both sides equally balanced. The character of Magdalene is exceptionally strong and vivid, bound to please those who love both genres of fiction."--Romantic Times
"In addition to a well-crafted plot, moments of heart-stopping suspense, and a dramatic conclusion, the author provides poignant glimpses into the humanity of her characters, particularly the women of the guesthouse."--Publishers Weekly
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Roberta Gellis has a varied educational background--a master's degree in biochemistry and another in medieval literature--and working history--10 years as a research chemist, many years as a free-lance editor of scientific manuscripts, and more than 40 years as a writer. She is married--to the same man for over 60 years (no mean feat in these days) and lives in Lafayette, Indiana, with her husband Charles and a lively Scottish terrier called Zoe. She has one child, Mark, who teaches Rhetoric (a fancy name for expository writing) at Kettering University in Michigan. Mark is married to Sandra and they have a lovely daughter, Elizabeth.
Gellis has been a successful writer of historical fiction, publishing over 25 meticulously researched historical novels since 1964. The best known of these are The Roselynde Chronicles (ROSELYNDE, ALINOR, JOANNA, GILLIANE, RHIANNON, and SYBELLE). The series has been reprinted many times since its first appearance in 1979, most recently in 2006. Gellis has also been the recipient of many awards, including the Silver and Gold Medal Porgy for historical novels from West Coast Review of Books, the Golden Certificate and Golden Pen from Affaire de Coeur, The Romantic Times Award for Best Novel in the Medieval Period (more than once) and Lifetime Achievement Award for Historical Fantasy, as well as Romance Writers of America's Lifetime Acheivement Award.
More recently Gellis has ventured into other genres, starting with mythological fantasy (DAZZLING BRIGHTNESS, SHIMMERING SPLENDOR, ENCHANTED FIRE, BULL GOD, and THRICE BOUND). Most recently she has written historical fantasy, with a series of book coauthored by Mercedes Lackey set in Elizabethan times (THIS SCEPTER'D ISLE, ILL MET BY MOONLIGHT, BY SLANDEROUS TONGUES, and AND LESS THAN KIND). Before that she was writing historical mysteries, a four-book series set in London and Oxford in 1139 (A MORTAL BANE, A PERSONAL DEVIL, BONE OF CONTENTION and CHAINS OF FOLLY) and one set in the Italian Renaissance in Ferrara (LUCREZIA BORGIA and the MOTHER OF POISONS).
Since Gellis is one of the early addicts to electronic readers---she purchased a RocketeBook way back in 1999---it is no surprise that she was eager to get her own out of print historical romances into electronic format. Cerridwen Press (http://www.cerridwenpress.com) has published the Heiress Series (THE ENGLISH HEIRESS, THE CORNISH HEIRESS, THE KENT HEIRESS, FORTUNE'S BRIDE, and A WOMAN'S ESTATE) as well as the Royal Dynasty Series (don't ask me about that, there isn't a royal or a dynasty in any of the four books---it was a notion of a long-ago agent) SIREN SONG, WINTER SONG, FIRE SONG, and A SILVER MIRROR. Cerridwen offers a variety of formats, one of which can be read by the Kindle and for those too firmly addicted to paper, the books are also available in a very nice Trade edition (but those are rather expensive).
I'm sorry I don't have any amusing anecdotes to relate, as recommended by the Profile, but a writer's life is really very quiet. Sometimes my neighbors ask my husband what has happened to me because they haven't seen me in such a long time. Depending on his humor of the moment, sometimes Charles tells them that I can't come outside because he keeps me chained to my computer---but that isn't true. He lets me get up once in a while.
The Old Priory Guesthouse is definitely a misnomer because it is a whorehouse run by Madame Magdalena La Batarde. She has powerful patrons including her landlord the Bishop of Winchester and the king's man to protect the popular Madame. Magdalena treats her employees as valued family members so when Sabrina leaves to become a mistress to Mainard Saddler, Magdalena gives her blessing.
When Sabina returns "home" upset because someone murdered Mainard's wife, Magdalena tries to calm down her former girl. Magdalena enlists her wannabe lover Sir Bellamy of Itchen to help clear Mainard's name not yet realizing how many people with motives rejoice in Lady Saddler's death.
As usual, Roberta Gellis combines her love for medieval times with her storytelling talent to write a novel with appeal to romance, mystery, and historical fiction lovers. The period tidbits are accurate as a result of meticulous research that augments a strong plot with depth that provides a colorful picture of the twelfth century's merchant's class during the reign of King Stephen. The audience will want to learn more about Magadalena's story in future novels in this exciting series.
Harriet Klausner
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Set in the year of 1139. Sabina, a gentle blind woman employed at the Old Priory Guesthouse, accepted the offer of Master Mainard to live exclusively with him. Since Mainard's face was horribly birth marked, everyone believed that his wife, Bertrild, would be glad she was rid of him. Instead, Bertrild was furious! She attacked Sabina and demanded Mainard return the doxy to the bordello. As Sabina and Mainard thought about what to do, Bertrild was murdered. Of course, her husband was the prime suspect. Sabina feared Mainard would hang. She went to her old mistress, Magdalene la Bâtarde, for help.
Magdalene cared about the women who worked for her. She would use her powerful friends in high places to seek out the real murderer.
***** Sir Bellamy of Itchen returns to help Magdalene unravel this mystery. Author Roberta Gellis did an outstanding job in creating a realistic murder mystery plot set in a fascinating time of history. The action began on the very first page and was able to hold my interest until the end. Fan of Sherlock Holmes, in my opinion, will especially enjoy this novel. Recommended!
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This is one of the best books I've read all year. After finishing A MORTAL BANE, I immediately started A PERSONAL DEVIL and read both books in this series in one day. The characters are fully realized and the writing is superb. You really feel like you know these characters and as the previous reviewer mentioned, this book should appeal to just about everyone. I look forward to reading the next one in the series. I cannot see ANY reason why ANYONE would have a problem with these wonderfuls books in her new series. I highly recommend these titles and if you don't take me up on this, you will miss out on some of the best fiction around. Roberta Gellis, thank you for many hours of reading pleasure and look forward to reading many more books with Magdalene and Bell.
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