The Merchant's Tale

Oxford Medieval Mysteries, Book 4

By: Ann Swinfen

Narrated by: Philip Battley

Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Oxford, Autumn 1353

St. Frideswide's Fair is a great annual event in Oxford, bringing together merchants and buyers from all over England and Wales, and from as far away as Flanders and France. Yet the earnings from the fair, granted to the Priory of St. Frideswide centuries before, are resented by the town, and resentment can turn to violence.

Under the unscrupulous Prior de Hungerford, even more trouble is brewing. Nicholas Elyot is warned by intelligencer Alice Walsea that attendance at the fair may be used for something more sinister, and not all French merchants may be innocent.

When a merchant from Flanders is attacked and an English traitor is murdered, can Nicholas disentangle the crimes hidden under cover of the fair?

©2017 Ann Swinfen (P)2017 Ann Swinfen

Consistent

If you have read and enjoyed Ann Swinfen, she does not disappoint. She consistently brings quality books to the table. I would recommend

Great episodes, a most admirable historical series

Book shopkeeper Nicolas Elyott is a most appealing, thoughtful, wise and interesting main character. Nothing wrong with really loving the protagonist in these books, makes for an excellent change. In this volume, nothing disappoints, superior character-driven story, good plot, and wonderful, authentic ambiance. Overall the series would get five stars from me, but the novels are on the short side and feel like episodes in a bigger story. So, perhaps at the end of this journey I shall award five stars.

Superlative narration.

Ann Swinfen

What beautiful stories.
I grieve the lost of such talent.
I will be sad when I complete the last volume.

4th in remarkable hist. fiction mystery series

I am fast becoming a fan of Ann Swinfin's. The novels have a humanity and comfort that for me is reminiscent of Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael mysteries. The mysteries are well-crafted, well-researched, and don't generally exceed the technology of the day. They are also believable.

I also enjoy that, while the story is complete in itself, there is also an over-arching "history" that is consistent from book to book. We see children growing and relationships develop.

A lovely series that I would recommend to most people.

Great series.

A very well written book. excellent narration. nice historic background material and very well researched.

Yes! 5 huge stars!

I love this series! Even my husband loves it commenting, "This is one of the best series we've ever listened to. I mean, all the characters come out of tragedy and yet they are intertwining, creating beautiful lives built on love and friendship with one another."
You feel that sincerity. It just leaps off the page and the narrator perfectly conveys the author's thoughts and feelings. I truly enjoy this narrator. He's one of the best I've ever listened to.
Start this series. You won't regret it.

One is sucked into this educational series because of its human interest

This is my 4th book in this series. I’m reading them in sequence because I don’t want to know the ending before the middle. Although I have a graduate degree in history,
I’m constantly learning “new” historical facts, and this series is an A+ example. So much of our course work focuses on historical “Movers and Shakers,” but it’s the day to day lives of the ordinary folks which really teach us about each time period. Be it farming, inventions, etiquette, child rearing, ad infinitum.… this is the best way to learn IMO because of the human interest factor. There is nothing vulgar in this series, and I will make it optional reading for extra credit. Sometimes fact to fact to fact just isn’t easy recall, but incorporate all our amazing history with human interest stories and watch your students’ inquisitiveness grow. A+

Excellent Read - love this series!

Interesting and engaging characters with a real flavor of Medieval life. I've read each book in the series and they each just got better and better. The narrator was especially good, too.

Round About Reading!

These Medieval Mysteries never move in a straight line towards solving the crime! There is often too much information, additional characters that are hard to keep straight, peripheral narratives that take attention away from the central action. However, the extra work required is well worth the effort. Boy, can you learn a lot about late medieval society and how people lived and worked. So, interesting. The deviations from the main story are like an added gift - more than you paid for and well worth the cost! You will get to know the characters and really care what happens to them. Great historical fun! And as an added bonus the narrator is fantastic! Takes on the voice of time and place and makes it sound perfectly natural! Can't wait for my next credit to order immediately the next book in the series.

Delightful Easy Reading

It occurs to me that part of what I love about this series may also be seen as a weakness by some. These books will not stump you. Who "dunnit" is not going to surprise. That said, the journey is absolutely the star here. I ADORE these books, in part because of the ease of reading. For me, even the most mundane things are made fascinating by clothing them in another culture or historical era, and that is part of what Swinfen does so well. If you are looking for a brain-bender, this probably won't appeal to you. If, however, you enjoy detail, histories of the more common folk, and/or are craving something's of a "palate cleanser" then I suggest these books with joy. My only true regret is in knowing there can only ever be the few in this series that are already published, owing to the untimely passing of the author.