Customer Reviews

A Personal Devil: A Magdalene la Batarde Mystery

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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

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 Bātarde, 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!

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.

What a strange book. The mystery itself, who killed Bertrilde the shrew, is straightforward enough, but much ink is devoted in this story to assuring the reader the Mistress Magdalen's whores actually enjoy their work and are grateful for their jobs in this nice clean whorehouse! Magdalen herself is presented as some sort of whore's angel who makes certain of her "ladies" safety, happiness, and well-being. Not to be critical - this is just an entirely new take on the world's oldest profession.

That said, A Personal Devil is a twist on the generic medieval mystery story and is entertaining and difficult to figure. Give it a try!

Roberta Gellis is a shining example of my favorite kind of female author - those who don't need to resort to romance to sell a story. Granted, there is a bit of romance in the book, but it's not the main focus of the book, and barely even a secondary story line (yes, it's integral to the plot, but not as a romantic tale in and of itself, more as an incidental occurrence).

I had never before read mystery novels set in medieval times. Quite a fascinating prospect. I've read medieval romances before, but the depth and detail revealed by Gellis's mounds of research were quite impressive.

The characters were genuine and sympathetic, the descriptions vivid and informative, and the mystery was more than adequately chilling and suspenseful. I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good cozy -- not quite the same, but a fine read nonetheless. A solid 8/10.

Note: The original hardcover edition (Tor, under the Forge imprint) repeats pages 97 to 128, and pages 129 to 162 are missing.

Once more Roberta Gellis delights her fans! This newest chapter in the Magdalene de Batard series is Gellis at her finest!

Magdalene and Sir Bellamy struggle to get to the bottom of the latest crime to darken the walls of the Old Priory Guesthouse for, afterall, the happiness of Sabina, the blind, depends upon their ability to capture the murderer.

In the process they continue to react to each other and the sparks fly! Sir Bellamy is the epitome of knightly chivalry and, having been church trained, doesn't quite know what to do with this strong and determined, yet totally feminine, woman. He would protect and cherish but she wants none of that; only to remain independent; her own mistress and meet life on her own terms.

As always, Ms. Gellis remains true to the history and details of the time period she writes about. Her attention to detail is impeccable and you will find no modern bloopers amonst the the gems she scatters at your feet. Defintely one for the keeper shelf.

Roberta Gellis is a master of the art of Medieval fiction, and she has her facts almost always spot-on. I also like the way she slowly reveals details of both Magdalene's and Bell's backgrounds. While each book can stand alone, it's still best to read them in chronological order to see the development of the characters, as well as to follow historical events that the story is set in front of.

I agree with other viewers who would have found a simple map of 12th-Century London a big help in understanding the movements of various characters. On my own, I have learned that the Priory Guesthouse is located on the road that leads directly to London Bridge. However, I also discovered an extremely uncharacteristic error; In the time period the story is set in, London Bridge was still built of wood. The legendary stone structure covered with houses and shops didn't come until later in the Medieval period.

Still, I think I can forgive this one mistake...

Roberta Gellis is one of the best historical fiction writers I've had the pleasure of following for 30 years or more. This current series, whose protagonist, Magdalene la Batarde, is a female bordello keeper in Middle Aged England, is fully realized, feisty and unless you're thoroughly seeped in the history of the period, might seem too 'modern' to be true (however, go back to Nicolette de la Hay or the 4 Provencal Queens and you know she's prefectly possible in her time & place). I enjoy mysteries in general when they're well written and informative as well as entertaining (Thank you Dick Francis, PD James, Elizabeth Peters, Charles Knief, et.al.) and realism in the details piques your fancy, read any of Gellis' historical fiction works and then, probably, reread to visit the characters and the time period again.

At first I was put off by the author setting these tales in the the whorehouse know as "the Old Priory Guesthouse" but I was eventually won over by the well drawn characters and high level of historical detail. The plot moves along nicely and has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, and the dramatic conclusion is a logical consequence of the suspenseful storyline. Twelfth-century England has not been so well portrayed since Ellis' Brother Cadfael series... and it seems not so far away in the humanity described between these pages. Highly Recommended for readers of historical mystery and fiction.

Thank you, Ms. Gellis for another good read. I truely enjoyed the book and the historical information included was a real treat. I am looking forward to what you do next. Thanks again!