Mysteries

[bunnyjadwiga]

Does anyone else reading this enjoy the Sister Frevisse 15th century mystery series (starting with The Novice's Tale) by Margaret Frazer? Do you also find that you are reminded of people you know (especially if you're in the SCA) by certain of her characters?

Comments

[binsteaj]

Yes! And yes!

[luscious_purple]

I've read several books in that series, but I can't say I've been in the SCA long enough to say, "There, that's Lord So-and-So..."

Nope

[bytchearse]

But it sounds like a cool series to pick up!

Are they actual people or archetypes?

Re: Nope

[bunnyjadwiga]

Well, I think Margaret Frazer doesn't actually portray specific SCAdians*, but her individual characters in some cases have uncanny similarities to people I know. Some of those characters are out of her imagination (like the widowed sempstress in The Sempstress' Tale, whose nature, though not her actions, reminds me of Aellin) and some are historical characters she portrays in her own way; Bishop Pescock in The Bastard's Tale reminds me uncannily of Broom, but I can't say why.

*Merely having used the term "remove" in her earlier books when referring to food service and then having reformed to "course" later on is not evidence of SCAdianism to me. :)

"Remove" removed...

[bytchearse]

That's funny :-D

[peregrinning]

When I lived in St. Paul, MN, I knew the authors who write/wrote as Margaret Frazer. They had both been active in the Nordskogen (Twin Cities, Minnesota) SCA community in the past. One of them wrote "Murder at the War," a Peter Brichter mystery that occurs at Pennsic War.

I remember, over a decade ago, either volunteering or planning to volunteer to allow an SCA author to use my "likeness" as a character if they chose to do so. I know others had done the same. This may have been a joke among good friends of the author.

There are enough standard SCA archetypes, and we are able to connect written characters to people in our own experience, that characters are often easily recognizable as locals in many different Kingdoms and branches.

One of these days, I will read more of the Dame Frevisse novels... it has been a long time.

[northernwalker]

I love the series, but don't know Scadia well enough to pick out people.