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Roger the Chapman #22
The Christmas Wassail
Christmas, 1483: Roger the Chapman is looking forward to twelve days of peace and celebration with his wife and children in Bristol. The family is particularly excited by the arrival of a troupe of mummers, who will perform their plays in the outer ward of the castle throughout the festival. But the gruesome murders of two of the town’s most prominent and venerable citizens, both veterans of the French wars, scupper Roger’s hopes as he is gradually drawn into the hunt for the killer.
Once again, Roger finds himself in grave danger, but it is someone else who pays the price of his inability to keep his nose out of matters that do not concern him . . .
Once again, Roger finds himself in grave danger, but it is someone else who pays the price of his inability to keep his nose out of matters that do not concern him . . .
248 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2013
14 people are currently reading
161 people want to read
About the author
Kate Sedley
37 books105 followersBrenda Margaret Lilian Clarke, known by her pen name Kate Sedley, was an English historical novelist best known for her Roger the Chapman mystery series. Born in Bristol in 1926, she also published as Brenda Honeyman and Brenda Clarke.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
May 9, 2020
An excellent end to an excellent series. Roger is trying to spend Christmas with his family in Bristol but is drawn into solving the murders of two men, four before all is said and done. The previous book in this series was a disappointment so I was afraid Sedley might not be at the top of her game for this installment. I'm happy to say she ended the series on a high note. The story is well plotted and well written. I am glad she ended the series with Roger at home amid the familiar characters of family and friends. This has been an enjoyable series with multi-dimensional characters and intriguing plots. Sedley was rarely, if ever, sloppy with her writing. Her stories were carefully written with consistent sequencing and character descriptions. Well done!
August 11, 2013
In addition to a good murder who done it, this was a fun look at the Christmas traditions of 15th century England.
The story takes place over the Twelve Days of Chritmas in 1483. During the Christmas. Winter finds Roger home with his family for Christmas and while he is dealing with jealous friends and neighbors, a important resident of Bristol is found murdered. Inevitably Roger is drawn in as another important resident is found murdered.
Ms. Sedley writes an entertaining story and I found this a quick enjoyable read.
The story takes place over the Twelve Days of Chritmas in 1483. During the Christmas. Winter finds Roger home with his family for Christmas and while he is dealing with jealous friends and neighbors, a important resident of Bristol is found murdered. Inevitably Roger is drawn in as another important resident is found murdered.
Ms. Sedley writes an entertaining story and I found this a quick enjoyable read.
October 12, 2013
I have just realized that the author of this series is older than the Queen! Amazing - but now I will be on tenterhooks* in fear that this series will never be finished and Roger will never retire from the road to live a quiet life. And what of daughter Elizabeth, whom I always thought would someday have her own series? And the mother in law, Margaret? Please write fast, dear Kate!
*a term which figures largely in the later books of this series...look it up!
*a term which figures largely in the later books of this series...look it up!
March 23, 2015
I've been reading this historical mystery series set in the War of the Roses, since it first began over 20 years ago. I enjoyed this gentle undemanding read - and learned lots about how Christmas was celebrated back then! I fear this may be the last in the series as the author is pretty elderly now!
March 5, 2018
This is the first of the series I've read, although there are over 20 books in it before this one. Roger the Chapman is a peddler (a Chapman in old England was a traveling seller, someone who took goods from town to town to sell them) who somehow keeps becoming involved in not just mysteries but international espionage.
In this book its Christmas time and there are some interesting historical bits in it such as the origins of the word "Wassail" from old Saxon and various customs of the time. The mystery wasn't particularly challenging, but it was well told and interesting to read, keeping my attention through the whole book. And unlike a lot of books of this genre it was not overlong.
The characters were often not very distinct, and there were so many it was difficult for me to keep track of who was whom. Few had more than a very vague, basic description and the ages of the children in the household weren't very clear beyond relative differences. And I saw who'd done the murders very early on; it was kind of obvious.
Also, the main character is described as being burly, a good fighter, tough, and strong. He carries a cudgel a yard long with a lead weight on the end, and at one point he hits a man on the temple with this thing... and the guy just runs away. Which suggests that Ms Sedley isn't very clear on combat or human frailty.
I'd love to read a historical book about a figure in the medieval times who isn't the sole skeptic about Christianity and faith in his community. I mean, really? They all must be atheists? Modern writers need to stop injecting their biases into the past and just write characters from that time.
In this book its Christmas time and there are some interesting historical bits in it such as the origins of the word "Wassail" from old Saxon and various customs of the time. The mystery wasn't particularly challenging, but it was well told and interesting to read, keeping my attention through the whole book. And unlike a lot of books of this genre it was not overlong.
The characters were often not very distinct, and there were so many it was difficult for me to keep track of who was whom. Few had more than a very vague, basic description and the ages of the children in the household weren't very clear beyond relative differences. And I saw who'd done the murders very early on; it was kind of obvious.
Also, the main character is described as being burly, a good fighter, tough, and strong. He carries a cudgel a yard long with a lead weight on the end, and at one point he hits a man on the temple with this thing... and the guy just runs away. Which suggests that Ms Sedley isn't very clear on combat or human frailty.
I'd love to read a historical book about a figure in the medieval times who isn't the sole skeptic about Christianity and faith in his community. I mean, really? They all must be atheists? Modern writers need to stop injecting their biases into the past and just write characters from that time.
January 26, 2019
2.5 *
I thought the mystery story was interesting enough and was able to work out who was doing the murdering before the reveal at the end. While I really enjoyed the historical setting (Christmas 1483) and the details the author wove throughout the story none of the characters are engaging enough for me to want to read another Roger the Chapman story; and, as I didn’t like the way Sedley initially portrays the relationship between Roger and his second wife, Alicia - she seems to have an ‘emotional attachment’ relationship with another man who haunts their home - I don’t want to spend any more literary time with them.
Some coarse ‘potty’ language, including a few f-bombs (wondering if they even used that expletive back in the 1400’s??) which add absolutely nothing to the story – easy enough to skip over in the written format.
I thought the mystery story was interesting enough and was able to work out who was doing the murdering before the reveal at the end. While I really enjoyed the historical setting (Christmas 1483) and the details the author wove throughout the story none of the characters are engaging enough for me to want to read another Roger the Chapman story; and, as I didn’t like the way Sedley initially portrays the relationship between Roger and his second wife, Alicia - she seems to have an ‘emotional attachment’ relationship with another man who haunts their home - I don’t want to spend any more literary time with them.
Some coarse ‘potty’ language, including a few f-bombs (wondering if they even used that expletive back in the 1400’s??) which add absolutely nothing to the story – easy enough to skip over in the written format.
December 22, 2025
#22 in the 15th Century English Roger the Chapman mystery series. It is 1522 and 70 year old Roger is recounting his life starting with leaving the life of a monk at Glastonbury at age 19 in 1471, to set off into the world as a wandering peddler or chapman and finds his true calling in solving mysteries.
Runs from just before Christmas,1483 to mid January, 1484. Roger the Chapman is looking forward to twelve days of peace and celebration with his wife and children in Bristol. The big town holiday event is performances by a traveling group of mummers. However, the gruesome murders of two of the town’s most prominent and venerable citizens pretty much puts an end to that as he is gradually drawn into the hunt for the killer.
Runs from just before Christmas,1483 to mid January, 1484. Roger the Chapman is looking forward to twelve days of peace and celebration with his wife and children in Bristol. The big town holiday event is performances by a traveling group of mummers. However, the gruesome murders of two of the town’s most prominent and venerable citizens pretty much puts an end to that as he is gradually drawn into the hunt for the killer.
February 28, 2024
I think I’ve read this before but didn’t remember anything bout it so it was like a brand new read! I enjoyed the storyline even though I did feel from time to time that I was coming into the middle of a story where I’d missed the beginning. I have read the other Roger the Chapman books so luckily I got most of the references. I was happy to see that Ms Sedley took care with her history and historical references, in this case, around the twelve days of Christmas, as well as those referring to rumours starting about Richard III and what he’d done with his nephews.
May 13, 2018
I read this after the previous one, and enjoyed it also. This time players come to the village, and deaths occur. Again. Our pedlar friend becomes involved in investigating at risk to himself and his family. Many twists and turns, red herrings, and insight I to the different layers of society. A good read.
December 24, 2018
I think I have finished this series. It was interesting to learn about the English King dramas. This one was sad, as a young innocent was murdered, not that any murder is innocent. But this one was especially sad. It is time to move on to another series. As other reviewers have noted, Roger is not very angelic is his God directed actions. Not a series I would recommend.
December 26, 2021
This is the first book I’ve read of this series of books following the medieval peddler Roger Chapman. This story is set at Christmas time and I found it very interesting on how Christmas was celebrated then, with the 12 days of Christmas and wassailing for example. The story is about a couple of murders and Rogers attempts to solve these. I enjoyed it enough to seek out more from the series.
December 9, 2020
Not very historically accurate but it was a light enjoyable read about Christmas season in 1400's England.
December 22, 2020
I enjoyed this medieval murder mystery, with its insights into the Christmas traditions of the time. It is a long time since I have read a Roger the Chapman mystery and it was lovely to revisit him.
December 21, 2022
I very much enjoyed reading about the Christmas (and pagan) celebrations in the late 1400s. The plot was not bad.
December 24, 2022
Perfect atmosphere for Christmas! Not sure if I'll ever read any other Roger books - Adela is insufferable.
January 7, 2025
I love this series of books about the adventures of Rodger the chapman
January 16, 2025
It's not the best Chapman story, but it's still a good read, Rodger the Chapman books, I love them
December 17, 2021
brilliant series
I read he first book by accident and then I was hooked reading one after the other
I really got into the person of roger the chapman and his family,a superb mystery series and also taking you back in time to a different era
Gutted I finally got to book 22 to find there is no more and yet I think roger could do much more.
Shame it’s ended unfinished
I read he first book by accident and then I was hooked reading one after the other
I really got into the person of roger the chapman and his family,a superb mystery series and also taking you back in time to a different era
Gutted I finally got to book 22 to find there is no more and yet I think roger could do much more.
Shame it’s ended unfinished
September 26, 2023
Kate Sedley’s The Christmas Wassail from 2013 is Sedley’s 22nd book in her Roger the Chapman mystery series. The Christmas Wassail is the first book I have read in the Roger the Chapman series. I enjoyed the book, and I had no problem entering the series in the middle of the series. The book reminded me a lot of Donna Leon’s Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery series. Instead of being set in modern-day Venice like in Leon’s books, Sedley’s books are set in Medieval England in the 1400s. The Christmas Wassail has Rodger the Chapman with his family living in Bristol. I believe Sedley is interested in the life of the ordinary working family life of medieval England. A Chapman is a peddler, but Roger also solves crimes for a living. In this book, Roger like Commissario Brunetti is a "detective" living a pretty comfortable life. At the beginning of the novel, Sedley’s Roger is looking forward to a peaceful Christmas, this wish does not come true due to this being a mystery novel. The mystery is pretty good. I found the setting of the mystery during Christmas and the Twelve Days of Christmas interesting. I believe that Sedley’s research into the Christmas customs of working-class English people in the 1400s is accurate and I found the description of these customs to be one of the interesting and fun parts of the book.
January 27, 2015
Christmas Wassail is an entertaining 'cozy mystery' set in 1483 & 1484 Bristol, England. This is the first Roger the Chapman novel I have read, though it is the last published of 22, so far. So I am approaching this book as a stand alone story, outside of its canon.
This mystery novel succeeds in setting its character and events within the atmosphere and culture of late Plantagenet England, particularly in this instance, of a medium sized village in the midst of several weeks of holiday merry making. Like any cozy mystery, the protagonist is a not an agent of law enforcement, but rather an outside investigator, who wants nothing more than to enjoy the holiday with his family, but mysterious murders keep happening. Told entirely with Roger the Chapman as the narrator, the reader is revealed what Roger is revealed and experiences what Roger experiences.
The dialogue is a little flat at times, but the pace of the story, chronologically from about December 23 through January 15, moves at a reliable pace. As an entertaining mystery, that not is concerned with who did it, but the moral questions of its age, this story works, and is an enjoyable read and entry into this series.
This mystery novel succeeds in setting its character and events within the atmosphere and culture of late Plantagenet England, particularly in this instance, of a medium sized village in the midst of several weeks of holiday merry making. Like any cozy mystery, the protagonist is a not an agent of law enforcement, but rather an outside investigator, who wants nothing more than to enjoy the holiday with his family, but mysterious murders keep happening. Told entirely with Roger the Chapman as the narrator, the reader is revealed what Roger is revealed and experiences what Roger experiences.
The dialogue is a little flat at times, but the pace of the story, chronologically from about December 23 through January 15, moves at a reliable pace. As an entertaining mystery, that not is concerned with who did it, but the moral questions of its age, this story works, and is an enjoyable read and entry into this series.
August 13, 2016
I believe this is the last entry in the Roger the Chapman series, which makes me sad in a way, but yet I think it is time that Roger retired. The last few books have had a bit of the sameness to them as series books often do after a dozen books. The book was published 3 years ago and the author is now over 90, so I will be surprised if there are any more in the series. The ending wasn't such that it seemed like tying up loose ends and settling things, so I have to guess that the series end wasn't necessarily planned.
At any rate, this is a quite enjoyable series if you like lighter historicals set during the 1470's-80's and are particularly fond of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who later became King Richard III. Roger has done some work for Richard and he often gets very implausibly mixed up in royal business...but as unlikely as those episodes are, they do enliven things a bit. This last entry actually has no royal ties and deals with the twelve days of Christmas in Bristol, 1483 when Roger gets entangled in a couple of grisly murders.
At any rate, this is a quite enjoyable series if you like lighter historicals set during the 1470's-80's and are particularly fond of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who later became King Richard III. Roger has done some work for Richard and he often gets very implausibly mixed up in royal business...but as unlikely as those episodes are, they do enliven things a bit. This last entry actually has no royal ties and deals with the twelve days of Christmas in Bristol, 1483 when Roger gets entangled in a couple of grisly murders.
April 28, 2014
1483...Richard is on the throne of England and everyone is wondering what became of his young nephews, the Princes, last seen in the Tower.
But that fact has little to do with this story of Roger Chapman investigating the murders which happened during the Christmas season in Bristol. Although the culprit clearly will not be the person they are all looking for, Roger does eventually determine the criminals.
As background to the story, Sedley provides a great deal of information on the ancient customs of Christmas and the following twelve days. Mistletoe balls, wassail, plum puddings, church attendance...all of those things we associate with the holidays were present in some form at this time.
I was not misled by the red herring. In fact, I had my eyes on the culprit almost from the beginning, but that was because I knew how the French punished the English longbowmen.
But that fact has little to do with this story of Roger Chapman investigating the murders which happened during the Christmas season in Bristol. Although the culprit clearly will not be the person they are all looking for, Roger does eventually determine the criminals.
As background to the story, Sedley provides a great deal of information on the ancient customs of Christmas and the following twelve days. Mistletoe balls, wassail, plum puddings, church attendance...all of those things we associate with the holidays were present in some form at this time.
I was not misled by the red herring. In fact, I had my eyes on the culprit almost from the beginning, but that was because I knew how the French punished the English longbowmen.
January 23, 2015
This was a very good yarn well told. Now I know I must go back to earlier books in this series since I only know for certain that I have read the most recently published two. This one was better than the previous book, full of wonderful historical events and traditions of the season as well, peopled with very well-drawn characters. The author does not set up "mysterious" mysteries as the reader can more easily identify culprits earlier than Roger the chapman who has many distractions and calls on his energies and time before he can reason it out. I am happy I have found a series with more than 20 books to attack.
August 17, 2013
I really enjoy Sedley's Roger the Chapman series, most of them rate five-stars for me, but this one I thought didn't quite measure up to its predecessors. For starters, I knew who-did-it almost from the start, and I'm usually pretty dense about these things. And I really, really didn't like the ending. No spoilers here, but it was unsatisfactory in the extreme. I did enjoy all the familiar characters, and the book moved along at the usual fast-paced clip
April 10, 2015
This was a cozy mystery set in 1483 and 1484, in Bristol England. This mystery and its characters and events are in the culture and atmosphere of Plantagenet England in a small village starting to celebrate a few weeks of holiday merry making. Good storyline and characters.
***I received this book in exchange for an honest review***
***I received this book in exchange for an honest review***
December 23, 2015
Roger may be hoping for a quiet holiday but he gets involved in investigating the murders of two war veterans. The purpratrators in seeking revenge and and trying not to be discovered kill an innocent person because he is wearing Roger's hand me down coat. "No good deed goes unpunished."
good historical information about wassail ceremony --mingling old "pagan customs" with Catholic
ritual.
good historical information about wassail ceremony --mingling old "pagan customs" with Catholic
ritual.
May 12, 2013
I enjoy the Robert the Chapman mysteries - a good, reliable read. This one sees Robert at home in Bristol with his family for Christmas, but he is a magnet to trouble, so it is not a quiet time.
December 13, 2013
Kate Sedley seldom disappoints, and this is a really good offering in this excellent series. Read them in order if you can, but if you can't, just grab one and enjoy a treat.
October 8, 2014
I liked the mystery and the setting, but the dialogue felt anachronistic, so sometimes it was hard to suspend disbelief.
March 5, 2015
Another adventure for Roger chapman
I enjoy these tales, their humor and historical content as well as the mysteries. The celebrations of Wassail were particularly interesting.
I enjoy these tales, their humor and historical content as well as the mysteries. The celebrations of Wassail were particularly interesting.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews