FALCONER AND THE FACE OF GOD - Softcover

Morson, Ian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0575600632 ISBN 13: 9780575600638

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 1997

Synopsis

"Morson's protagonist is Falconer is a regent at Oxford in the mid-1200s, during the latter days of the incredibly long reign of Henry III, the great-grandson of Matilda and father of Edward the hammer who conquered Scotland. The Falconer solves crimes in the little city of Oxford. He has been described as a Middle-Ages Morse on the book jacket but he's not that good--yet. In FALCONER AND THE FACE OF GOD, a troupe of jongleurs not unlike the crew that stages the play in Hamlet arrives in Oxford in time to present a Christmas play covering everything from Creation to the death of Christ. Given the leading actor, a golden-haired fellow named de Askeles, is a despicable if semi-educated cur, fatal things are bound to happen and they do. Before long, the Falconer finds himself involved with two mysterious deaths which he solves just in time for the New Year. "

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: St Martins Pr
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0575600632
• ISBN 13: 9780575600638
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192