The Moneylender of Toulouse: A Fools' Guild Mystery (Fools' Guild Mysteries)
2 journalers for this copy...
I got this fair-condition ex-library hardcover from Better World Books. It's from a series set in 13th century Europe, with an actual Fools' Guild as the core of the story.
This volume picks up after the events of The Lark's Lament, though it includes enough back-story that readers can enjoy this book without having read the previous ones. Here, jester Theophilos and his wife Claudia (going by the names Tan Pierre and Domina Gile on this mission), along with their 12-year-old apprentice and adopted daughter Helga and their year-old baby Portia, reach Toulouse with instructions to (a) have Theophilos take over as Head Fool of the city, and (b) oust the bishop (!) and replace him with one more sympathetic to the goals of the Fools Guild. Minor challenges, right? Right!
To complicate things, no sooner have they arrived than Theophilos is tapped by the bishop's right-hand man to try and recover a missing book, one that has led to one murder already and may involve widespread scandal...
As with previous books, there is a lot of attention to period detail, from political, religious, and social concerns to the practicalities of a fool's life: practicing routines, fine-tuning jokes, and walking the line between amusing and outraging their patrons.
They gain new companions in the city: Jordan, the hefty senior fool, who'd hoped to become Head Fool himself but who seems resigned to Theophilos' role, and Pelardit, a tall, lanky mute who's as talented as Theophilos (and, in some things, even better). I enjoyed the scenes where they collaborated on routines, amusing and distracting the leading citizens of the city - all the while they pursued clues in the killings, and tried to further the goal of rearranging the religious power.
Loads of sparkling dialogue, the truly lovely relationship between Theophilos and Claudia, entertaining twists and turns - another fine entry in this entertaining series. And as this volume ends on a somewhat chilling note, I'm more eager than ever to read the next...
[There's a TV Tropes page on the series.]
This volume picks up after the events of The Lark's Lament, though it includes enough back-story that readers can enjoy this book without having read the previous ones. Here, jester Theophilos and his wife Claudia (going by the names Tan Pierre and Domina Gile on this mission), along with their 12-year-old apprentice and adopted daughter Helga and their year-old baby Portia, reach Toulouse with instructions to (a) have Theophilos take over as Head Fool of the city, and (b) oust the bishop (!) and replace him with one more sympathetic to the goals of the Fools Guild. Minor challenges, right? Right!
To complicate things, no sooner have they arrived than Theophilos is tapped by the bishop's right-hand man to try and recover a missing book, one that has led to one murder already and may involve widespread scandal...
As with previous books, there is a lot of attention to period detail, from political, religious, and social concerns to the practicalities of a fool's life: practicing routines, fine-tuning jokes, and walking the line between amusing and outraging their patrons.
They gain new companions in the city: Jordan, the hefty senior fool, who'd hoped to become Head Fool himself but who seems resigned to Theophilos' role, and Pelardit, a tall, lanky mute who's as talented as Theophilos (and, in some things, even better). I enjoyed the scenes where they collaborated on routines, amusing and distracting the leading citizens of the city - all the while they pursued clues in the killings, and tried to further the goal of rearranging the religious power.
Loads of sparkling dialogue, the truly lovely relationship between Theophilos and Claudia, entertaining twists and turns - another fine entry in this entertaining series. And as this volume ends on a somewhat chilling note, I'm more eager than ever to read the next...
[There's a TV Tropes page on the series.]
Journal Entry 2 by 
GoryDetails
at Little Free Library, Green Needles Rd. in Littleton, Massachusetts USA on Monday, March 20, 2017
GoryDetails at Little Free Library, Green Needles Rd. in Littleton, Massachusetts USA on Monday, March 20, 2017
Released 7 yrs ago (3/20/2017 UTC) at Little Free Library, Green Needles Rd. in Littleton, Massachusetts USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I left the book in the Little Free Library at around 4; hope the finder enjoys it![See other recent releases in MA here.]
*** Released for the 2017 Oh, the Places We Can Go release challenge. ***
I found this book in this Little Free Library in Westford, MA while dropping off some books. Was pleased to see that it's traveled from another LFL, though it would have been nice to get a JE from one or more of the finders!
Journal Entry 4 by GoryDetails at Pheasant Lane Mall, 310 Daniel Webster Highway in Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Monday, February 4, 2019
GoryDetails at Pheasant Lane Mall, 310 Daniel Webster Highway in Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Monday, February 4, 2019
Released 5 yrs ago (2/4/2019 UTC) at Pheasant Lane Mall, 310 Daniel Webster Highway in Nashua, New Hampshire USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I left this book on a table in the entrance to Burton's restaurant in the mall, after a lovely dinner; hope the finder enjoys it![See other recent releases in NH here.]
I found this book (-The Moneylender of Toulouse- by Alan Gordon) at Burton's, a restaurant at the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua NH. It was great fun to find it, and it was an enjoyable read as well. I know something of the time period in which the book takes place and I was impressed by the author's efforts to weave historical accuracy into it while also being pretty funny. I intend to release this book tomorrow at the YMCA in Merrimack NH.
