A Brood of Vipers: Being the Fourth Journal of Sir Roger Shallot Concerning Certain Wicked Conspiracies and Horrible Murders Perpetrated in the Reign of King Henry VIII - Hardcover

9780312139384: A Brood of Vipers: Being the Fourth Journal of Sir Roger Shallot Concerning Certain Wicked Conspiracies and Horrible Murders Perpetrated in the Reign of King Henry VIII
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
In the spring of 1523, Cardinal Wolsey's "beloved" nephew, Benjamin Daunbey, and the latter's rapscallion servant, Roger Shallot, are summoned to London. A Florentine envoy, Lord Francesco Abrizzi, has been foully murdered in Cheapside. He has been shot in the head by a new-fangled hand cannon and King Henry VIII, the "Great Beast" of Shallot's memoirs, is determined to unmask the perpetrators of this outrage.
In London, Shallot experiences King Henry VIII's rage and spite, the insults of the Abrizzis, and a murderous attack on his own life. Shallot, a born coward with the fastest legs in Christendom, just wants to crawl away and hide, but Henry VIII and Wolsey are most insistent: Shallot and Benjamin are to journey to Florence, discover the identity of Lord Francesco's assassin, deliver a secret message to Cardinal Guilo de Medici, Prince of the Church and ruler of Florence, as well as inveigle back to England a Florentine painter. It sounds simple enough - but the reality is murderously different: they experience murder onboard ship, pursuit by Turkish corsairs, the Satanic rites of a black magician, and bloodshed on every side.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly:
Sir Roger Shallot's "fourth journal" (the third was The Grail Murders) reveals a veritable Titus Andronicus of savagery: duels; beatings; suicide; plots within plots; and murders?lots of them. But it's hardly tragedy, as Shallot, Knight of the Garter, four-time widower, cheater at dice and earthy-tongued libertine (who claims to have sired a son by the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I), tells it all with garrulous, sometimes scatological, gusto. He recalls the spring of 1523, when he, then a mere servant, traveled with his beloved master, Benjamin Daunbey (nephew of Cardinal Wolsey and agent of Henry VIII), to Italy to investigate the London murder of a Florentine envoy. Staying at the villa of the powerful Abrizzi family, they see plenty of action while drinking in the lively but treacherous Florentine milieu of Machiavelli and the Medicis. The mystery, which has to do with the scheming that led to Henry's break from Rome, is merely workmanlike. It doesn't really matter a bit. The pleasures of this series are not to be found in plotting but in Shallot's Falstaffian narrative flair.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal:
YA?The reign of Henry VIII bristles with adventure and intrigue in this fourth journal of Sir Roger Shallot. The narrator, servant to Cardinal Wolsey's nephew, travels with his master first to London and then to Florence on their quest to solve the mystery of the murder of Francesco Abrizzi, Florentine envoy to the king. This is but one of the many mysteries Roger and his master encounter and solve while obeying Wolsey's summons. The appeal of this story to YAs is manifold: it is a fast-paced, somewhat bawdily told tale set in a time of great political upheaval and peopled with characters (real and fictional) whose scheming and plotting bring color and life to an era far removed from our own. A list of the historical personae mentioned in the text is included.?Pamela B. Rearden, Centreville Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherSt Martins Pr
  • Publication date1996
  • ISBN 10 0312139381
  • ISBN 13 9780312139384
  • BindingHardcover
  • Edition number1
  • Number of pages247
  • Rating

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Clynes, Michael
Published by St Martins Pr (1996)
ISBN 10: 0312139381 ISBN 13: 9780312139384
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldenWavesOfBooks
(Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0312139381

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 31.70
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Clynes, Michael
Published by St Martins Pr (1996)
ISBN 10: 0312139381 ISBN 13: 9780312139384
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Wizard Books
(Long Beach, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0312139381

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 32.29
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.50
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Clynes, Michael
Published by St Martins Pr (1996)
ISBN 10: 0312139381 ISBN 13: 9780312139384
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldBooks
(Austin, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0312139381

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 31.62
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Clynes, Michael
ISBN 10: 0312139381 ISBN 13: 9780312139384
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Front Cover Books
(Denver, CO, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover0312139381

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 33.63
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.30
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Clynes, Michael
Published by St Martins Pr (1996)
ISBN 10: 0312139381 ISBN 13: 9780312139384
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
The Book Spot
(Sioux Falls, SD, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # Abebooks52682

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 59.00
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Clynes, Michael
Published by St Martins Pr (1996)
ISBN 10: 0312139381 ISBN 13: 9780312139384
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
BennettBooksLtd
(LOS ANGELES, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 0.8. Seller Inventory # Q-0312139381

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 99.99
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.13
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds