A Play of Isaac (A Joliffe Mystery)

Author - Margaret Frazer ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Mass Market Paperback Book item from Berkley was reviewed on 4-Nov-2008.

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1) Mass Market Paperback Book A Play of Isaac (A Joliffe Mystery) by Berkley. I´ve read this book a few times and still find it entertaining every time. I don´t know how to explain it but reading this book is a happy experience. Ms. Frazer´s writing makes me see everything so clearly. I enjoyed these characters and look forward to meeting them again.¤

2) Mass Market Paperback Book A Play of Isaac (A Joliffe Mystery) by Berkley. Some years ago, the scuttlebutt was that a mystery had to have a murder in the first chapter. Not only the first chapter, but as close to page one as possible. If the story couldn´t be made to fit that requirement -- too bad. No sale. And we´d have missed this marvelous book, in which the first murder doesn´t happen until page 116!

Thank goodness that´s no longer the case. A PLAY OF ISAAC by Margaret Frazer is not a fast-paced, whiz-bang type of story. It is layers deep, with full-bodied characterizations and lavishly described surroundings so that on nearly every page, one can see and hear and smell and taste- and almost feel the world in which the book is set. It´s a lovely, languid reading experience that will stay with you for a good while after you´ve finished it.

In 1453, the world was fairly well run by the church. Most folks couldn´t read, but could remember saint´s days and church festivals-with a little help from the monks and priests who lived and worked in the churches and abbeys. Some of the bigger festivals, such as Corpus Christi, meant a holiday from work, so was an even bigger event. Adding to the teachings of the church, groups of players delivered morality plays, and it was not uncommon for several of these to be given in a day´s time, by various minstrel troups in scattered locations throughout a larger city such as Oxford.

It is there we meet Joliffe and the others of his band of players: Thomas Basset, the playmaster; his maybe-widowed-maybe-not daughter Rose, and her son Piers, plus Ellis who has aspirations other than acting. He´d be Rose´s second husband in a minute, if she´d agree. Rose cannot be a player, of course, but she´s the costumer, scenery deviser, props master, chaperone, and general manager, nonetheless. Even Piers plays many parts.

While settling in for the festivities, the troup is `discovered´ by an Eden-child, Lewis, who may indeed be simple, but he uses the wits he has to better advantage than the so-called normal folks around him. He is a wealthy young man who is fostered by the wealthy, merchant Penteney family, and is even betrothed to their daughter, Kathryn. In fact, the banns will most likely be posted during the festival, in the presence of Lord and Lady Lovell, who will be visiting her parents.

In this tense time, with a weak king on the throne (Henry VI) the ever-constant threat of Lollardy is a grave offense. Along with the Lovells comes the first murder, and skeptical Joliffe mistrusts nearly everyone, although the acting crowner Barentyne seems reasonable and fair. Between them, they´ll get to the bottom of the various mysteries, which may prove unsatisfactory to some readers, but are all perfectly sensible to the era in which the crimes take place.

If you´re at all interested in theater, you´ll relish the remarkable research done by the author, and attention to details paid to the still-somehat-young art of that time. It´s amazing how sophisticated players and playing could be all those centuries ago.

If you need a fast-paced, shoot-´em-up type of story to keep you happy, this isn´t that sort of book. If you like history, theater, words and characters about whom you´d like to know much, much more, then this is YOUR book. And soon, with luck, there´ll be more to come in this new series by the author of the Dame Frevisse Medieval Mystery series.¤

3) Mass Market Paperback Book A Play of Isaac (A Joliffe Mystery) by Berkley. Interesting characters, but some logical flaws. Overall, fairly mediocre. Find a better book.¤

4) Mass Market Paperback Book A Play of Isaac (A Joliffe Mystery) by Berkley. This one is Frazer at her finest. Why paperback, though? I would think her sales would assure her a hardcover! Anyway, once again, she manages to wend her way through a complex mystery, and neatly draws the threads together at the end. Believable time-piece.¤

5) Mass Market Paperback Book A Play of Isaac (A Joliffe Mystery) by Berkley. I read all the "Tales Of . . ." books with enthusiasm. I was surprised to find this first in a new series so slow-moving. It was hard to find a plot through all the boring details. There was a surge of hope on pages 116 and 208, but this book never got going as far as I was concerned. Even Joliffe, from The Servant´s Tale, lost his charming and witty personality in this one. It seemed as if the people using the Margaret Frazer pen name lent it to somebody else.¤

6) Mass Market Paperback Book A Play of Isaac (A Joliffe Mystery) by Berkley. When his band of traveling players are taken in by a patron, Joliffe and company find that murder has taken their place in the spotlight--and it´s up to them to catch a killer in the act.¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 2-Dec-2008, 04251975149780425197516, 1X0-140-400-990-180-830-8

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