Customer Reviews

The Servant's Tale (Sister Frevisse Medieval Mysteries)

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Margaret Frazer has done her research well as she guides us through the medieval landscape of traveling Players, the ordeal of patronage and prejudice, murder and mayhem in village and cloister. The reader is there in 15th century England, cold, fearful, hungry, but soon warmed,and well fed through the kindness and Benedictine ethics of the Sisters. The 20th century does not intrude here except in the discovery that people are universally the same: good, silly, corrupt, flawed no matter what time frame in which they might have lived. Murder is murder, but here, with a lively twist. The incisive, wise Sister Frevisse carefully asserts her strength, protecting the players. Why? She collects the facts overcoming all impediments and finally, is amazed, herself, when the truth of the murders is revealed. Terrific read, excellent research into the period and in the realistic portrait she paints of wandering theatre troupes. A book with authentic historical information combined with a page turning mystery.Read it and you will be eager to consume the rest of her work too!

We visit the fifteenth century priory of St. Fridewides in a bleak cold winter in Margaret Frazer's book the Servant's Tale. all the sisters have caught the rheum (or flu) and a group of players(actors)bring in a badly injured man. His wife, Meg is a servant to the priory and badly wants a better life for herself and her children. This seems unlikely to happen with a maimed husband who was somewhat shiftless in the first place and given to drink.

Before long we have a murder and the players are the chief suspects. Our medieval sleuth Sister Frevisse, wants to disprove this, because of her beginning friendship with this group of people.

I was not as fond of this book as I was with the others in the Sister Frevisse series. Frazer does her usual superb research and brings the fifteenth century to life. Her characters are interesting and you want to find out more about them. This novel is very bleak and sad. I knew who was the villain immediately and hoped I was somehow wrong.

It's a very cold Yuletide at St. Frideswide in the 1433. All the sisters are either sick or recovering from colds. Sister Frevisse is also not feeling herself, but she is thrown into another murder investigation when a village lad is found dead. Before they even get anywhere with that, another murder takes place. Who is killing people in what is supposed to be a religious and joyous season? Sister Frevisse must find out. Can she solve it before an even more grotesque murder happens? This is a good book. Ms. Frazer must use extensive research since her period detail and characterization is very good. Even so, it is a very dark and disturbing tale.

This is the second in a series of seven books about Sister Frevisse, a feisty 15th century nun who inhabits the convent of St. Frideswide. Like Brother Cadfael in Ellis Peters' novels, Sister Frevisse not only solves crimes of the body but those of the troubled heart as well. In this story, period details bring the multifaceted world of the 15th century convent to life when the sisters are presented with a troupe of actors who arrive with the wounded husband of the convent's maid. Other Sister Frevisse novels bring the nun into the larger world of the politically connected well-to-do.

Dame Frevisse returns in the second installment of Margaret Frazer's medieval monastary series, THE SERVANT'S TALE.
Christmas time and a band of players bring the body of a man to the priory. A local villen, Barnaby who they found in a ditch outside of town. Barnaby is alive, but barely. His wife, Meg arrives to help Dames Frevisse and Claire care for her injured husband.
Both the travelers and Barnaby as housed in the same guest house. Sister Claire thought he was recovering, but during the night Barnaby dies. Later he is followed by his son who all think die in a bar fight with one of the travelers.
The winter is difficult as the sisters try to care for their charges, fight their colds, and find a murderer who doesn't hesitate to kill a nun.
Good read.
Nash Black, author of SANDPRINTS OF DEATH.

I really enjoy this author. Good story line keeps my interest and the author is so knowledgeable about the Middle Ages, you feel like you have lived hundreds of years ago.

The most important aspect of fiction to like is the plot, and this one moves right along and held my interest all the way through. The second most important is the characters, and these are very well-done and mostly likable. But for a historical mystery, the setting is an element as well, and Frazer is almost unparalleled at getting the "feel" right. The Benedictine nuns keep their focus on their primary purpose, which is to glorify God. The players accept their denigrated social role and risky life to enjoy their freedom and ability to travel. The villeins, including the title servant, plod along with no rights and nothing pleasant to anticipate or work towards. Dame Frevisse (and the proper title for a Benedictine choir nun IS "Dame," not "Sister) is torn between her obligation of obedience to do a good job running the guest house and her yearning to worship. Frazer does such an exemplary job delineating the medieval social structure that this could almost be used in a history class - if the teacher would allow such an engrossing book!

This is an excellent series and one that I would recommend to mystery lovers. Set in Medieval England, it's great!

The Servant's Tale takes a good 60 pages to grab you, but once the second murder has happened, you will not set the book down until you are done.
Sweet Sister Frevisse almost overlooks the culprit by keeping such an open mind even after exposing adultery by one of the St. Frideswide's servants.