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Matthew Bartholomew #3
A Bone of Contention
It is 1392, and Matthew Bartholomew, physician to Michaelhouse College, is called to examine some mysterious bones found in the King's Ditch. The next day he is called to the Ditch again—a student has been found dead there. Meanwhile, there is unrest in the town, and the strange disappearance of Dominica, the former lover of the dead student. Are these events connected? Then a skeletal hand is found in the Ditch, hailed by townsfolk as the final remains of local martyr Simon d'Ambrey, and hence a holy relic. When Bartholomew finds that the hand is wearing a ring apparently identical to a pair that were worn by Dominica and her ex-lover, and now missing, he knows that his investigative skills are called for.
506 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
About the author
Susanna Gregory
64 books444 followersSusanna Gregory is the pseudonym of Elizabeth Cruwys, a Cambridge academic who was previously a coroner's officer. She is married to author Beau Riffenburgh who is her co-author on the Simon Beaufort books.
AKA Simon Beaufort
She writes detective fiction, and is noted for her series of mediaeval mysteries featuring Matthew Bartholomew, a teacher of medicine and investigator of murders in 14th-century Cambridge.
These books may have some aspects in common with the Ellis Peters Cadfael series, the mediaeval adventures of a highly intelligent Benedictine monk and herbalist who came to the Benedictine order late in an eventful life, bringing with him considerable secular experience and wisdom combined with a deal of native wit. This sets him apart from his comparatively innocent and naíve monastic brethren. His activities, both as a monk and a healer, embroil him in a series of mysterious crimes, both secular and monastic, and he enthusiastically assumes the rôle of an amateur sleuth. Sceptical of superstition, he is somewhat ahead of his time, and much accurate historical detail is woven into the adventures. But there any resemblance to the comparatively warm-hearted Cadfael series ends: the tone and subject matter of the Gregory novels is far darker and does not shrink from portraying the harsh realities of life in the Middle Ages. The first in the series, A Plague on Both Your Houses is set against the ravages of the Black Death and subsequent novels take much of their subject matter from the attempts of society to recover from this disaster.
These novels bear the marks of much detailed research into mediaeval conditions - many of the supporting characters have names taken from the documentation of the time, referenced at the end of each book - and bring vividly to life the all-pervading squalor of living conditions in England during the Middle Ages. The deep-rooted and pervasive practice of traditional leechcraft as it contrasts with the dawning science of evidence-based medicine is a common bone of contention between Matthew and the students he teaches at Michaelhouse College (now part of Trinity College, Cambridge), whilst the conflict between the students of Cambridge and the townsfolk continually threatens to escalate into violence.
Another series of books, set just after the Restoration of Charles II and featuring Thomas Chaloner, detective and former spy, began with A Conspiracy of Violence published in January 2006, and continues with The Body in the Thames, published in hardback edition January 2011.
AKA Simon Beaufort
She writes detective fiction, and is noted for her series of mediaeval mysteries featuring Matthew Bartholomew, a teacher of medicine and investigator of murders in 14th-century Cambridge.
These books may have some aspects in common with the Ellis Peters Cadfael series, the mediaeval adventures of a highly intelligent Benedictine monk and herbalist who came to the Benedictine order late in an eventful life, bringing with him considerable secular experience and wisdom combined with a deal of native wit. This sets him apart from his comparatively innocent and naíve monastic brethren. His activities, both as a monk and a healer, embroil him in a series of mysterious crimes, both secular and monastic, and he enthusiastically assumes the rôle of an amateur sleuth. Sceptical of superstition, he is somewhat ahead of his time, and much accurate historical detail is woven into the adventures. But there any resemblance to the comparatively warm-hearted Cadfael series ends: the tone and subject matter of the Gregory novels is far darker and does not shrink from portraying the harsh realities of life in the Middle Ages. The first in the series, A Plague on Both Your Houses is set against the ravages of the Black Death and subsequent novels take much of their subject matter from the attempts of society to recover from this disaster.
These novels bear the marks of much detailed research into mediaeval conditions - many of the supporting characters have names taken from the documentation of the time, referenced at the end of each book - and bring vividly to life the all-pervading squalor of living conditions in England during the Middle Ages. The deep-rooted and pervasive practice of traditional leechcraft as it contrasts with the dawning science of evidence-based medicine is a common bone of contention between Matthew and the students he teaches at Michaelhouse College (now part of Trinity College, Cambridge), whilst the conflict between the students of Cambridge and the townsfolk continually threatens to escalate into violence.
Another series of books, set just after the Restoration of Charles II and featuring Thomas Chaloner, detective and former spy, began with A Conspiracy of Violence published in January 2006, and continues with The Body in the Thames, published in hardback edition January 2011.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
March 4, 2013
Der Schatten der Pest liegt über Cambridge. Die Gläubigen suchen Schutz in der Macht heiliger Reliquien. Doch die Knochenhand eines Märtyrers, die Doctor Bartholomew zur Prüfung vorgelegt wird, ist viel zu bleich, um jahrelang im Sumpf gemodert zu haben. Und sie trägt einen Ring, wie er zuletzt die Hand eines Studenten schmückte. Eines Studenten, der letzte Nacht ermordet wurde.
"Ein falscher Heiliger" ist wie die anderen Teile der Reihe vollgepackt mit Informationen, Personen, Orten und Handlungen. Gelehrte, Geistliche, Studenten, Städter, Dörfler, Händler, Prostituierte, Wahnsinnige, Geistig Umnachtete, Aufwiegler, Verräter, Mörder, Hochstapler, Spione, Tote und Totgeglaubte vereint in einem Wirrwarr aus Mord, Betrug, Aufstand, Überfall, Verrat, Diebstahl, Einbruch, Leichenschändung, Vertuschung, Fälschung, Erpressung und Größenwahnsinn. Genug Material für drei Krimis.
Das Tempo des Buches ist extrem hoch, alle paar Seiten überschlagen sich die Ereignisse, neue Informationen und Erkenntnisse werfen alles Bisherige über den Haufen. Informationsfülle und Lesetempo führen zu Verwirrung und Irritation, zwischenzeitlich sind die unzähligen Aspekte der Geschichte kaum noch auseinander zu halten.
Vom Ende des Buches wird viel abverlangt, denn die zahlreichen Figuren, Handlungen und Aspekte müssen irgendwie unter einen Hut gebracht werden. "Irgendwie" scheint dann auch die Lösung zu sein, denn das Ganze scheint arg konstruiert und ist kaum nachvollziehbar. Einziger Pluspunkt ist, dass man bis zu den letzten 50 Seiten unmöglich auf die Lösung kommen kann, da erst dann der wesentliche Punkt der Geschichte aufgedeckt wird.
Wie in den ersten Bänden überschattet auch in "Ein falscher Heiliger" das Chaos aus Handlung und Personen die hervorragend erarbeitete historische Kulisse.
"Ein falscher Heiliger" ist wie die anderen Teile der Reihe vollgepackt mit Informationen, Personen, Orten und Handlungen. Gelehrte, Geistliche, Studenten, Städter, Dörfler, Händler, Prostituierte, Wahnsinnige, Geistig Umnachtete, Aufwiegler, Verräter, Mörder, Hochstapler, Spione, Tote und Totgeglaubte vereint in einem Wirrwarr aus Mord, Betrug, Aufstand, Überfall, Verrat, Diebstahl, Einbruch, Leichenschändung, Vertuschung, Fälschung, Erpressung und Größenwahnsinn. Genug Material für drei Krimis.
Das Tempo des Buches ist extrem hoch, alle paar Seiten überschlagen sich die Ereignisse, neue Informationen und Erkenntnisse werfen alles Bisherige über den Haufen. Informationsfülle und Lesetempo führen zu Verwirrung und Irritation, zwischenzeitlich sind die unzähligen Aspekte der Geschichte kaum noch auseinander zu halten.
Vom Ende des Buches wird viel abverlangt, denn die zahlreichen Figuren, Handlungen und Aspekte müssen irgendwie unter einen Hut gebracht werden. "Irgendwie" scheint dann auch die Lösung zu sein, denn das Ganze scheint arg konstruiert und ist kaum nachvollziehbar. Einziger Pluspunkt ist, dass man bis zu den letzten 50 Seiten unmöglich auf die Lösung kommen kann, da erst dann der wesentliche Punkt der Geschichte aufgedeckt wird.
Wie in den ersten Bänden überschattet auch in "Ein falscher Heiliger" das Chaos aus Handlung und Personen die hervorragend erarbeitete historische Kulisse.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review