Chaucer and the Legend of Good Women

Chaucer #2

by Philippa Morgan

Dispatched to Florence in 1373 in order to secure a loan for Edward III's campaign against France, poet and diplomat Geoffrey Chaucer encounters resistance from the banker's blind brother and ambitious secretary, a situation that is further complicated when the banker is found murdered. By the author of Chaucer and the House of Fame.

Genres: Mystery, Historical, Historical Mystery, Historical Fiction, Medieval

299 pages, Hardcover

First published July 28, 2005

About the author

A pseudonym used by Philip Gooden.

Series:
* Chaucer

Reviews

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps 3.5 stars. The author's voice is more apparent in this book than in most recently written books. This provides an almost tongue-in-cheek humor at times, despite the somewhat bleak context of the story. Contrasting with the murders (and the reader almost always knows whodunnit), are the descriptions of Florence and its environs. Our hero, Geoffrey Chaucer, has come to Florence to help arrange a loan from a local banker for Edward III, King of England. But of course, it isn't that easy. He gets involved in a convoluted series of murders in the process.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never did figure out where the "legend of good women" figured into this book. Women did play an important role and the author did a good job of showing how violent and gruesome life in medieval times was. Set in Italy, with the Englishman, Geoffrey Chaucer as the protagonist sent on a mission to borrow money for King Edward, one got a sense of the area as opposed to Chaucer's memories of England.

[Kathy Dobronyi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chaucer’s life is in danger while he is on a diplomatic mission to Florence, the city of finance for his king, Edward III. This is a “medieval murder mystery” with many characters and plot twists. Sadly, the story would have been better with a good editor. Instead of flowing smoothly as mysteries must, unimportant words are repeated that slow the action, and events are not always logical or in order.

[Erin Schott · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's like a medieval Heroides. And I love how Chaucer even name drops Ovid as his source throughout it. Chaucer takes these classical texts and puts a fun spin on them. Where Virgil never mentions Dido being pregnant and Ovid hints at it, Chaucer makes it canon that she's pregnant. It's neat to trace the development of a figure like the queen of Carthage from antiquity to the Middle Ages.

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

While it was an entertaining story, this one just is not as well written as the first book in this series. The narrative doesn't flow as smoothly and part of the plot isn't very believable. I also didn't care for how the women characters were portrayed.

[Tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love the Middle Ages, so I picked this book up. I had no idea it was part of a series and no idea it was a murder mystery. It was terrible. There was so little that was historical in it, that I hesitate to even call it historical fiction. The characters could have been out of any murder mystery (I'm guessing, as this is the first one I've ever read) and everything about it was so cliched including the very ending where SPOILER ALERT: the guy who is pretending to be blind the whole time turns out to not be blind and it is revealed to the reader at the same time that the main detective guy reveals that he has known it for most of the book. Dumb. Not a fan.

[Scilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is another historical mystery - this time with Chaucer doing the sleuthing. It takes place in Florence in 1373. Although there are some descriptions of Florence of the time, I didn't really get a sense of life there. Chaucer has travelled to Florence to get a loan for Edward III. However, he becomes mixed up in a murder which has taken place about the time he arrives. It is a good yarn and I enjoyed reading it, but is not as gripping and lifelike as Phillippa Gregory's novels.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a mystery, this was a good story-full of family plotting and intrigue. As a historical mystery, I felt it was lacking. It seemed like it was set any time, any place. Also, I wasn't sure why Chaucer was in there as the main character. Just because he was a famous medieval guy? I got no sense of him as an author/poet-he was just a traveler on an errand for his king.

[Cimorene · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise is great, but the execution is disappointing. The construction of the mystery is lacking, the protagonist's character isn't really felt, and the narration is awkward and at times plodding.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read that turned out how I expected but was thoroughly entertaining in spite of the foretelling.