The Moneylender of Toulouse: A Fools' Guild Mystery

by Alan Gordon

Book Overview

In 1204 A.D., Theophilos, jester and agent for the Fools' Guild, is sent to Toulouse with his jester wife, infant daughter and young apprentice with one simple mission - get the current Bishop to quietly retire so that the position can be filled with one more sympathetic to the Guild's goals. Arriving just before Christmas, they quickly learn that the Bishop is in some hot water with a man widely known as the local money lender. A man who, a day after...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312371098
• ISBN13: 9780312371098
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 322 Pages
• Weight: 1.06 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

The seventh book in a great series that's still going strong

The Moneylender of Toulouse is the seventh book in Alan Gordon's highly enjoyable Fools' Guild series of medieval mysteries. To anyone not familiar with this series, you will need to start with the first book, Thirteenth Night, as the series actually does progress through actual history and the events do affect the characters' lives. Gordon began the series with a remarkable conceit: his two principal characters are Feste (Theophilos to his fellow members of the Fools' Guild) and Viola (now guild-named Claudia) from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, with Gordon's Thirteenth Night taking up the story and telling us what became of them afterwards. What Gordon also does is to ground his stories in actual history, but with the premise of a secret organization - the Fools' Guild - working behind the scenes to guide events, trying to make things better if they can or to at least keep them from being any worse. In The Moneylender of Toulouse, the year is still 1204 and events pick up right where they left off at the end of The Lark's Lament, the previous book in the series. The Fools' Guild is in the process of regrouping from attacks by the church under Pope Innocent III, who regards them as rivals and interlopers in church affairs. In The Lark's Lament, Theophilos, along with his wife Claudia, their apprentice Helga and their infant daughter Portia, had been sent by the Guild to France to convince Folc, a former Guild member who is now an abbot of a monastery, that his services are again needed, this time as the new Bishop of Toulouse. After having succeeded in the first part of their mission, Theophilos and his family/troup must now undertake the second part: getting the old Bishop of Toulouse to step down, whether he wants to or not. The murder of a local moneylender that occurs shortly after their arrival seems to hold the key to accomplishing their goal. As always, Gordon keeps things moving in terms of the mystery but at the same time keeps us intimately involved in Theophilos and Claudia's lives as they make their living, raise their infant daughter Portia and train their apprentice Helga. One of the continuing delights of the serious is seeing how seriously the professional fools of the guild take their fooling. In The Moneylender of Toulouse, we get to see Theophilos not only deal with the problem of being appointed the new Chief Fool of Toulouse over the heads of two veteran fools, Jordan and Pelardit, but also the problem of telling them how to freshen up their act: "We sat down to a proper dinner, with Jordan, Claudia and me trading stories while Pelardit caused Helga and the two boys fits of giggling with various bits of sleight of hand and some droll expressions. -We finished with some lemon cakes that we had purchased from a local baker, and down some more wine, feeling fat and happy. 'Well, as loath as I am to work after all that, we must,' I said. 'Let's see that routine again.' -The two fools grabbed their instruments. 'Pelardit, a

The Money Lender of Toulouse

Alan Gordon's Fools' Guild series is a gem! The Money Lender is wonderfully written and an excellent read. Gordon's meticulous research about each area of Europe in the 12th century makes his novels even more enjoyable.

A great addition to a killer series.

This is the latest in an excellent series of historical mysteries centered on a Fool family in the early Thirteenth century. Forgive the cliche, but they are very hard to put down. Now we must wait for further developments.

not the best, but pretty darn good!

The issues raised in this book, especially the concerns about the church's role in a medieval town, are fascinating. The role of Jews is also interesting! Like I said, not his best, but pretty darn good. Especially like the mime - he has the best dialogue! Peg Farrar

Excellent Fools' Guild medieval mystery

In 1204 The Fools' Guild knows that some of the Church's more fanatical leaders want the Pope to disband them under the threat of declaring its members heretic. Especially vocal is the Bishop of Toulouse Bishop Raimon de Rabastens. The Guild whose mission is to prevent war send one of their top agents jester Theophilos and his family to blackmail the Bishop into retiring so that they can replace this adversary with a friendlier person. Upon arrival in Toulouse Theophilos has no plan except to find a transgression he can use to force Raimon de Rabastens to resign. However, a scheme surfaces when the murdered corpse of moneylender Milon Borsella is found in a tanner's pit; the victim and the Bishop engaged in a loud public argument just yesterday. Theophilos plots how to use the homicide when another murder occurs and Jordan the fool is arrested for the crime. Theophilos and his wife Claudia believe both murders lead back to the Bishop, but to prove it remains difficult. The latest Fools' Guild medieval mystery (see THE LARK'S LAMENT) is a terrific whodunit that uses a vivid look at early thirteenth century France to enhance the plot. The story line is fast-paced as the husband and wife team switch gear from their devious plot to force the Biship into resigning to proving their local compatriot is innocent. Filled with humor and a great whodunit, only a fool would pass on Alan Gordon's excellent historical investigative tale. Harriet Klausner