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Sins of the Blood by Margaret Frazer

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Susan
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Sins of the Blood by Margaret Frazer

Post by Susan » Sat March 23rd, 2013, 1:38 pm

Sins of the Blood by Margaret Frazer

This is a collection of one short story and two novellas featuring Dame Frevisse from Margaret Frazer's mystery series. I've only read the first full-length novel so far and I was somewhat disappointed with this book because I wanted more. The last novella, The Stone-Worker's Tale, was the most intriguing and I wish this had been a full-length novel. Frevisse was visiting her cousin Alice, Duchess of Suffolk as her tomb was being constructed. Alice was a real person and her tomb is at St. Mary's Parish Church, Ewelme, Oxfordshire. She has an interesting genealogy: granddaughter of the writer Geoffrey Chaucer and grandmother of the de la Poles whose Yorkist descent (from their mother who was a sister of Edward IV and Richard III) caused a couple of them to be imprisoned and one of them to be beheaded.

The book also contained a wonderful description of the Abbey of St. Frideswide, the setting of the full-length novels featuring Frevisse (but not the setting of the short story or the novellas). I wish a map of the abbey had been included. In addition, a large part of The Novice's Tale, the first in the Dame Frevisse series, is included.
~Susan~
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annis
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Post by annis » Sat March 23rd, 2013, 6:39 pm

Alice is a significant character in Susan Curran's excellent but neglected novel The Heron's Catch, which features Alice's husband, William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, and his circle.

Although there isn't a map of St Frideswide's in Sins of the Blood, Margaret Frazer did provide the maps she sketched for her own reference on her website
http://www.margaretfrazer.com/map/

Frevisse's St Frideswide's is fictional and shouldn't be confused with the real St Frideswide's, which was originally a nunnery founded by seventh-century Anglo-Saxon noblewoman/saint Frithuswith. It was burnt down during the St Brice's Massacre of 1002. It was rebuilt on the same site in 1122 under the auspices of Henry II as a Priory of Augustinian canons. It has a fascinating history and the monastery church still exists as Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford. The name Frevisse, btw, is a variant of Frithuswith.
Last edited by annis on Sat March 23rd, 2013, 8:37 pm, edited 6 times in total.

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Susan
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Post by Susan » Sat March 23rd, 2013, 7:20 pm

[quote=""annis""]Alice is a significant character in Susan Curran's excellent but neglected novel The Heron's Catch, which features Alice's husband, William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, and his circle.[/quote]

Just did a quick online search and that book seems nearly impossible to find. Brian Wainwright gave it an excellent review on Goodreads.
~Susan~
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annis
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Post by annis » Sat March 23rd, 2013, 8:33 pm

I don't know why someone doesn't reissue Susan Curran's historical novels - both are very good (as far as I know she only wrote the two) - Mouse God (set around the siege and fall of Troy) and Heron's Catch. She also wrote a non-fic. biography of William de la Pole called The English Friend, but I haven't read that. I didn't have any trouble picking up copies of her novels via online auction sites, but that was some years ago.

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Susan
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Post by Susan » Sat March 23rd, 2013, 8:46 pm

[quote=""annis""]Although there isn't a map of St Frideswide's in Sins of the Blood, Margaret Frazer did provide the maps she sketched for her own reference on her website
http://www.margaretfrazer.com/map/[/quote]

Thank you, Annis! Now I will re-read the description with the maps.
Last edited by Susan on Sat March 23rd, 2013, 8:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
~Susan~
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Amanda
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Post by Amanda » Sat March 23rd, 2013, 9:40 pm

[quote=""annis""]Alice is a significant character in Susan Curran's excellent but neglected novel The Heron's Catch, which features Alice's husband, William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, and his circle.

[/quote]

Funny....I was reorganising some books the other day and saw this book and thought that I would have to bump it up the TBR list!

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Susan
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Post by Susan » Mon April 1st, 2013, 1:00 am

I noticed on our own boswellbaxter's blog that she has a guest post on Alice de la Pole, Duchess of Suffolk on another blog. Very interesting!

http://sarahshistoryblog.wordpress.com/ ... ginbotham/
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
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http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/

annis
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Post by annis » Sat April 6th, 2013, 7:13 pm

Thanks, Susan- it is very interesting. Our Alice was no slow-poke when it came to seeing to her own (or her son's) interests!

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