The Servant's Tale

 

The Servant’s Tale

Author: Margaret Frazer

Genre: historical mystery

Number of pages: 234

First published: 1993

Setting: England in 1434

Rating: 3 stars

First sentence: The house set on the muddy track beyond the village church, drawn back with its two neighbors from Prior Byfield’s single broad street.

One sentence comment: After an astonishing amount of rambling, the murdered body was finally found on page 162 of 234.

 

It's puzzling why the author spent so much time on the travelling players, especially with a wealth of nun characters available. The players felt bland to me, and it was easy to predict at least one of them would be accused of the murder.

Towards the end of the story, it became clear that the book aimed to explore a medieval theological concept: the destination of a murdered soul—specifically, whether it went to Purgatory or Heaven. The narrative operated on the assumption that if a person suffering from a long-term illness was murdered, their soul would remain in Purgatory for an extended period. This extended stay was intended to compensate for the deceased not having lived out the full duration of their earthly "trial," implying that a prolonged illness was a form of penance or a test that needed to be completed.

While the book realistically portrayed the lives and thoughts of the villagers in that era, it was a letdown as a sequel to The Novice's Tale. The previous book had a much more engaging plot, making this follow-up quite disappointing by comparison.