Chaucer and the Legend of Good Women: A Medieval Murder Mystery

by Philippa Morgan

Three years after his secret mission to Aquitaine, the poet and diplomat Geoffrey Chaucer finds himself once more embarked on royal business. After an arduous journey in the spring of 1373, he reaches... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786715987
• ISBN13: 9780786715985
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers
• Length: 299 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Almost as good as her first

I'm glad this history mistress continues to bring us her splendidly peopled, richly described world cuz I enjoy how she breathes life into dusty old medieval Chaucer, he of the incomprehensible ribald "English", & now he's on the way to the fabled city of Florence as envoy, spy & beggar of loans for his ever-warring English king. Settle in for a journey into another time of which the sights & sounds & smells have long been forgotten, even if the pace of medieval murder & mayhem makes us faster-paced moderns itch with "hurry up"-ness! I'm finding the imagined life & times of this literary ancestor enjoyable & fascinating.

The mysteries of medieval murder

I picked this book up quite by chance and find that I've read the second book in a series of three. Written within a light, but informative, framework of history the story moves quickly enough to maintain interest but not so quickly that connections cannot be made and tested. As in Chaucer's written legend itself, this book is more about bad men than good women. Or is it? Entertaining and well written: I'll be looking to read more of Master Chaucer's adventures. Whether or not they feature bad fish and fallen statues. A recommended light read. Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Chaucer's 'tale' continues

Phillippa Morgan's second novel in the three set series takes our intrepid Geoffrey Chaucer to Florence, the thriving, bustling city in the outset of its famous Renaissance (14th century) and once again the "Father of English Literature" is involved in a complicated, convoluted murder mystery. Our hero, who's yet to pen more than a few lines on his own series of tales (after all, it's only the middle of the 14th century!), is on a diplomatic mission to bankers of Florence for his king, Edward III, who's so in over his head in his own wars with France that he desperately needs the money. This mission should be simple--just secure the papers for the loan and Chaucer can get back to his wife and family in London. Alas, though, as readers can expect, it's not quite so simple. Murder will out. As with Chaucer's own "Canterbury Tales" (but certainly not anywhere near the same degree!), Morgan's medieval mystery story not only addresses the subject of murder but looks at social, economic, and religious issues and injustices. Chaucer is set to finalize proceeings with the banker Antonio Lipari, one of the financial leaders of Florence. Before the transactions can be completed, Antonio is found dead, apparently killed by a toppled statue in his own villa. Of course, owing to the nature of Morgan's genre (a murder mystery!) and to the story's plot development, Chaucer suspects foul play and the story moves rapidly from this point. It's up to Chaucer to find the murderer. However, before the story is neatly and deftly finished (it's a murder mystery!), Morgan provides us with a melange of characters, some good, noble, and bad, most of whom have a credible motive for killing Antonio, including Antonio's blind brother, his sister-in-law, his assistant, and a number of others (Morgan is quick to round up the "usual suspects"!). One disappointment is that Morgan does not provide our Geoffrey with his two trusty aides from the first book, Alan and Ned, but as it's been three years since Chaucer's last "mission," perhaps they've moved on to higher paying and safer jobs! That said, "Chaucer and the Legend of Good Women" is a good read. Morgan's foray into historical, police-procedural fiction is a good one. She keeps the story going with Chaucerian humor and satire yet maintains the seriousness that a murder mystery should possess. Not deep--Morgan's not Umberto Eco--but few historical murder mystery writers are, this episode holds its own and, of course, readies us for the third installment Chaucer and the Doctor of Physic , set for a July, 2006, publication. Basically, the book is an uncomplicated fun read, one that captures the interest, imagination, and enjoyment of historical fiction fans! (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)