Death and the Chapman

by Kate Sedley

Book Overview

England, 1471: A 19-year-old peddler called Roger the Chapman travels throughout the country selling trinkets. When a wealthy Bristol elderman asks him to investigate the mysterious disappearance of his only son, Roger embarks on an adventure that takes him from England's country roads to its grandest establishments--and into the villainy within. Martin's.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061043192
• ISBN13: 9780061043192
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: HarperPrism
• Length: 362 Pages
• Weight: 0.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Excellent series opener: well done indeed

In Death and the Chapman, Roger, a 19-year-old former Benedictine novice who left the monastery to become a small-time peddler (or chapman), meets up with two families in rural England who have lost loved ones at a certain London inn. Feeling bound to investigate after giving his word, he travels to London and finds himself engaged in the mystery of the Crossed Hands Inn. The resolution of the mystery involves everyone from the wretches who strip the bodies found in the Thames and resell the clothing to Richard, Duke of Gloucester, the future Richard III. Sedley handles every facet of the mystery very well. Roger, an old man reminiscing over the events of fifty years past, comes across as an irascible but still sharp man with his own opinion, be damned the Tudors. The young Roger is equally likable, but Sedley has the smarts to show him both as a callow naif and as an intelligent investigator. The character comes across as someone with the nose for detection but without the street-smarts to temper his energy. He comes alive as a real, breathing, living person - the kind of young man anyone would be proud to know. The secondary characters are equally three-dimensional and equally realistic. Sedley through Roger sees people as they really are: the spine of steel that will turn the young, brash maiden into a strong wife; the gentle, honest Duke of Gloucester (so different from his portrayal in Tudor propaganda, as Roger himself points out) who keeps his word, even to a chapman; the forward serving girl who takes Roger's virginity; and even the villain, who is not who he seems to be. I really enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

First Book in the Roger Chapman Series

The Author Kate Sedley was born in Bristol and it is probably no coincidence that the majority of the Roger Chapman books take place in and around the Bristol area. Kate was educated at the Red Maid's School in Westbury-on-Trym. She is married and has a son and a daughter. Kate Sedley's books about Roger Chapman, the pedlar come murder mystery sleuth are becoming more and more popular and rightly so. They are good entertaining reading with plots and backgrounds that have been well thought out and well researched. They are what I would call light reading (very much like the writing style of Paul Doherty or Bernard Knight, two other well known authors of medieval mysteries). This book is the very first in the series. This book takes place in 1471. Now the 15th century as a whole was a turbulent period of English history not least because of the longstanding war between the Yorkists and the Lancastrians, a war that spawned the Battle of Towton, near York, in 1461. This was the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil. The political situation in 1471 is complex and the war between the Yorkist and Lancastrian sides still rages. Roger the Chapman has only recently given up his Spartan life as a Monk and has taken up a life as a pedlar travelling the roads selling things to the great households and anyone else who has the money to pay for silk, cottons, fine gloves, needles and many other useful items. Roger finds the life a happy one and a pleasant change from the strict day to day habits of a monk. That is until he gets caught up in the strange disappearance of a man . . .

Excellent Medieval Mystery Introduces Travelling Sleuth Roger the Chapman

"Death and the Chapman" introduces the reader to a wonderful mystery series featuring an itinerant English peddlar with a nose for solving a mystery. Full of history and details of everyday English life in the late 1400s, this series is a delight for any historical mystery fan. I had previously read and enjoyed four of the later novels in this series before I finally tracked down this very-hard-to-find series debut. As with any series, starting at the beginning gives the reader the best understanding of the characters in the story. Opening in the spring of 1471, as King Edward IV has just returned to the English throne, we meet 19 year-old Roger the Chapman, who has recently departed from his studies as a novice at the Abbey of Glastonbury, having decided not to take his final vows. Seized with an urge to see the country, young Roger has decided to become a "chapman", or a travelling peddlar. In Roger's first adventure, Roger has a randome meeting with Marjorie Dyer, the housekeeper to Alderman Alfred Weaver of Bristol. Roger then learns of the mysterious disappearance six months earlier, of the Alderman's son, Clement Weaver, while on a visit to London to purchase materials for his sister's wedding dress. When Roger admits that he is ultimately bound for London, he agrees to make inquiries in London to see if he can learn anything about Clement's disappearance. As Roger makes his way towards London, the reader is treated to details of other towns he visits along the way. Finally Roger reaches Canterbury, on the outskirts of London, where he learns of another mysterious disappearance of Sir Richard Mallory, who also disappeared from the Crossed Hands, the very same inn in London where young Clement was last seen. When Roger finally reaches London, he meets Martin Trollope of the Crossed Hands inn and begins to make inquiries about the missing men. As a final mystery in the story, Roger also becomes involved in solving the disappearance of the Lady Anne Neville, cousin of the King Edward and beloved of Duke Richard Gloucester. This story line explains how Roger meets the Duke of Gloucester, a recurring character in the subsequent mysteries but a story that is never fully explained. "Death and the Chapman" is a thoroughly enjoyable story on its own, but one which will be particularly enjoyed by readers of the other installments of this excellent medieval series.

An awesome Night in Central London

Let's say something about the book with the German title "Die letzte Rast". (The English title "Death of a Chapman" is much better in my opinion!) A brief description of the story is already on this site so I leave this out. This book was a christmas present and so I didn't want to read it for a few years. But often the things you don't really want to do are the best ones: I was soon captured by the story simply because of the colorful description of medieval England together with the possibilty to identify myself completely with the hero Roger Chapman. This is also due to the a-little-bit-flat description of his character. (Is flat description of advantage in crime stories? Think of Sherlock Holmes!) The plot is straightforward and very original. In fact, it is guaranteed that it will scare you quite a bit at least if you are on a business trip and have to spend your night in a guesthouse! It will not be easy for the follow-ups (there are two yet!) to do as good as this one.