Falconer and the Face of God - Hardcover

Morson, Ian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0575060484 ISBN 13: 9780575060487

Publisher: Victor Gollancz Limited, 1996

Synopsis

"It is Christmas in Oxford, and Stefano de Askeles has brought his troupe of jongleurs to town. Things have not been going well for him -- poor Gyles de Malton was killed on stage in Winchester, and Stefano's pawing of Margaret the tumbler has her husband wild with jealousy. But Oxford is full of students, and the joy of the season may loosen their purse-strings. Master William Falconer, meanwhile, has been scouring the back alleys of the town in search of an alchemist who can help his exiled mentor, Roger Bacon, in his researches. Thus it is that he witnesses the final rehearsal of de Askeles' play - and the death of an unfortunate stand-in. Someone, it seems, wants de Askeles dead." The third novel in the series.

About this title

Review:

If you'd like to sample Ian Morson's excellent historical series about William Falconer, a 13th-century professor and astute crime solver, try this beautifully detailed story. Someone is trying to kill off the head actor, the supremely nasty Stefano de Askeles, in a traveling morality play that arrives in Oxford just as Falconer is doing some down-and-dirty research for his mentor, Roger Bacon. De Askeles survives a fatal blow, but his unlucky stand-in doesn't, which makes Falconer the actor's reluctant protector. As always, Morson captures the feel of the period, and avoids adding modern touches that would jar readers out of their hard-earned propinquity.

From Kirkus Reviews:

His exiled mentor Roger Bacon has asked Oxford Regent Master William Falconer to find an unnamed local alchemist, but he's given Falconer only the most cryptic of clues to the man's identity. By the time Falconer finds the alchemist, he's already been rounded up with 20 other suspected thieves by King Henry II and his venal, obsequious courtier, Thomas de Cantilupe. While waiting for a Christmastide Lord of Misrule to release the unjustly jailed suspect, Falconer can turn his attention to the murder of troubadour Stefano de Askeles--whose strolling troupe of jongleurs hates him with half a dozen motives for murder--and to the fortuitous unearthing of a saint's relics in answer to a greedy Oxford priest's prayers. Lots of subplots and masked figures obscure the rich central metaphor provided by the medieval mystery plays in Falconer's third outing (Falconer's Judgement, 1996, etc.). -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Victor Gollancz Limited
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0575060484
• ISBN 13: 9780575060487
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192