Satan in St. Mary's [Mass Market Paperback]

P. C. Doherty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1989

1284 and Edward I is battling a traitorous movement founded by the late Simon de Montfort, the rebel who lost his life at the Battle of Evesham in 1258. The Pentangle, the movement's underground society whose members are known to practice the black arts, is thought to be behind the apparent suicide of Lawrence Duket, one of the King's loyal subjects, in revenge for Duket's murder of one of their supporters. The King, deeply suspicious of the affair, orders his wily Chancellor, Burnell, to look into the matter. Burnell chooses a sharp and clever clerk from the Court of King's Bench, Hugh Corbett, to conduct the investigation. Corbett -- together with his manservant, Ranulf, late of Newgate -- is swiftly drawn into the tangled politics and dark and dangerous underworld of medieval London.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Building on an actual murder in 1284, Doherty (The Death of a King auspiciously begins a mystery series featuring Hugh Corbett, clerk of the King's Bench. Lawrence Duket, goldsmith, kills Ralph Crepyn, moneylender, and flees to London's St. Mary Le Bow for sanctuary. The next day Duket is found hanged inside the locked church, an apparent suicide. Bishop Burnell, Chancellor for King Edward I, assigns Corbett to investigate. Burnell fears that the antiroyal Populares party will join with practitioners of devil worshipat this time, "Christianity is only skin deep." Hugh Corbett is threatened and attacked while probing "a suicide which was really murder which . . . masked treason, sorcery and rebellion." The santanist group seems to be centered at The Mitre, a tavern owned by the beautiful Alice atte Bowe, with whom Corbett falls in love. The mystery is neatly done and Doherty's ease of scholarship in giving us the rich sights, sounds and smells of medieval London is masterful.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Paul Doherty was born in Middlesbrough. He studied History at Liverpool and Oxford Universities and obtained a doctorate for his thesis on Edward II and Queen Isabella. He is now headmaster of a school in north-east London and lives with his family in Essex. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (January 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312913575
• ISBN-13: 978-0312913571
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,932,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, June 9, 2005

By 

K. Huff (Radnor, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Satan in St. Mary's (Hardcover)

Although I feel that P.C. Doherty's other medieval mysteries featuring Hugh Corbett are better (after all, this is the first book in the series, and the second novel by the author in general), Satan in St. Mary's gives us an introduction to the world of 13th-century London and the various political activities that were occurring. Doherty's later mysteries only get better.

Edward I is King of England, and although his longtime enemy Siomn de Montfort is thirty years dead, he still fears him and his followers, who belong to numerous secret societies that proliferate in London. The death of one such member, Lawrence Duket, allegedly by suicide, leads Hugh Corbett, a clerk in chancery, to be called in to investigate. However, when Hugh goes to ask questions, the people who knew the dead man seem awfully reticent to talk about him. The course of his investigation leads Hugh Corbett to uncover some frightful secrets deep at the heart of English politics. This is a must-read for anyone who likes English history, as well as those who like mysteries.

I recommend that you read the books in the Hugh Corbett series in order: Satan in Saint Mary's, The Crown in Darkness, Spy in Chancery, Angel of Death, Murder Wears a Cowl, The Assasin in the Greenwood, Prince of Darkness, Song of a Dark Angel, Satan's Fire, The Devil's Hunt, Corpse Candle, and The Demon Archer.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Medieval Murder!, July 31, 2000

By 

Kenri A. Mugleston - See all my reviews

This review is from: Satan in st Mary's (Linford Mystery) (Paperback)

I am a fan of medieval literature, especially mysteries. Mr. Doherty has written an excellent mystery set in 13th century London.

The King has enemies all around wishing to remove him from office. Hugh Corbett, a clerk in the King's Court, is chosen to discover why Lawrence Duket was killed in the church of St. mary LeBow and who has perpetrated the deed. By doing this, Hugh will also discover the underground satanic movement which wishes the death of the king.

I recommend this book highly if you like visiting medieval times or even if you just like a good mystery. I would also suggest you check out Sharon Kay Penman if you like historical mysteries.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Delicious Medieval Mystery full of Treason and Covens!, October 24, 2004

By 

S. Schwartz "romonko" (alberta canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Satan in St. Mary's (Hardcover)

Although I have read other books written by P.C. Doherty and enjoyed them immensely, I have never read a Hugh Corbett mystery. This is the first in the lengthy Hugh Corbett series and I intend to read all the rest (in order of course as I always do). If you love medieval mysteries, than you can't go wrong with P.C. Doherty. He does a bang-up job of outlining the time and place and the settings that he pens are nothing if not realistic. In this book Hugh is asked by the Chancellor to uncover a treasonous plot against the king, and this he does along with his trusty and unique manservent - Ranulf who Hugh rescues from the gallows. As he and Ranulf set out to solve the mystery of what happened to a goldsmith found hanging in a church, they are drawn swiftly into a huge treasonous plot that involves a dangeours coven, and it's up to Hugh to single-handedly subvert that plot. Like all P.C. Doherty mysteries, the plot moves swiftly, and the descriptions of the cold, dank and dangerous streets of London are very realistic and put the reader right into the mayhem.