The Midwife's Tale

By Margaret Frazer

"Sisters! Come back! Please don't leave us yet!"

Cisily Fisher has died in childbirth and now the village of Priors Byfield is held in a grip of fear. Can Dame Frevisse find the root of misery behind a murderer's sin before the next lethal blow falls? Or will be the village be lost in a hue and cry of terror? The gentling touch of the midwife may calm the tortured soul... or give birth to a bitter death.

(The Midwife's Tale is part of the Margaret Frazer's Tales series.)

PRAISE FOR THE SISTER FREVISSE MEDIEVAL MYSTERY SERIES

"This series is full of the richness of the fifteenth century, handled with the care it deserves. Margaret Frazer's tales are charmingly and intelligently contrived." - Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Accurate period detail, adroit characterization, and lively dialogue add to the pleasure." - Publishers Weekly

"Sister Frevisse is a stalwart, appealing sleuth." - Mostly Murder

"Truly shocking scenes and psychological twists." - Mystery Loves Company

"Frazer uses her extensive knowledge of the period to create an unusual plot ... appealing characters and crisp writing." - Los Angeles Times

Twice nominated for the Minnesota Book Award.
Twice nominated for the Edgar Award.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Justin Alexander
• Release date: May 10, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458072382

Margaret Frazer

Herodotus Award Winner ("Neither Pity, Love, Nor Fear") Edgar Award-nominee (The Servant's Tale) Edgar Award-nominee (The Prioress' Tale) Minnesota Book Award nominee (The Bishop's Tale) Minnesota Book Award nominee (The Reeve's Tale) To begin with, 'Margaret Frazer' was two people, both interested in writing and in medieval England, one of them with modern murder mysteries already published, the other with file drawers, shelves, and notebooks full of research on England in the 1400s. They met in a historical recreationist group called the Society for Creative Anachronism and joined forces to write The Novice's Tale, the first in a history mystery series centered on a Benedictine nun, Dame Frevisse, of a small priory in Oxfordshire. Both character and setting were chosen for the challenge they presented – a cloistered nun in a rural nunnery: how does one go about being involved in murders in that situation? -- and the chance to explore medieval life from a different perspective. During their collaboration, the authors worked together by first laying out the general idea of a story. Then the 'Frazer' half of the team developed the plot and characters in detail and wrote the first draft. The 'Margaret' half then re-worked that into a second draft, the 'Frazer' half re-worked that (and it helped they lived five miles apart and couldn't hear what each said about the other during these stages!), and then they did the final draft together, never able to argue over it too long because by then there would be a deadline closing in. The collaboration worked well through six books and two award nominations – an Edgar for The Servant's Tale and a Minnesota Book Award for The Bishop's Tale – before the 'Margaret' half grew tired of the series and amicably returned to the 20th century, leaving the 'Frazer' half to continue the series, with an Edgar nomination for The Prioress' Tale. I write stories set in medieval England because I greatly enjoy looking at the world from other perspectives than the 20th century. My brief college career was as an archaeology major with writing intended as a hobby, but with one thing and another, my interest came down to medieval England with writing as my primary activity, only rivaled by my love of research. But why medieval England, especially for someone who grew up without any interest in knights in shining armor and ladies fair? That's a tangled tale but the final steps were ...

Book preview

The Midwife’s Tale

A Short Story by Margaret Frazer

Part of the Dame Frevisse Medieval Murder Mysteries

Published by Dream Machine Productions at Smashwords

Copyright 1995 Margaret Frazer

http://www.margaretfrazer.com

* * * * *

O cursed synne of alle cursedness!

O traytours homycide, O wikkednesse!

Geoffrey Chaucer

The Pardoner's Tale

* * * * *

The light from the yet unrisen sun flowed softly gold and rose between the long blue shadows of the village houses and across the fields and hedgerows full of birdsong.  Ada Bychurch, standing in the doorway of Martyn Fisher's low-eaved house, shivered a little in the morning's coolness and huddled her cloak around her, hoping for more warmth from its worn gray wool.

She wished she could as readily huddle away from the sorrow in the house behind her.  She was village midwife and had done what she could but it had not been enough and now there was nothing left but the hope that after Father Clement's ministrations, Cisily's soul would go safe to whatever blessings she had earned in her short life.  But despite her faith Ada could not help the feeling Cisily's mortal life had been too short.  Far too short for the motherless newborn daughter and the grieving husband she was leaving behind her, however fortunate Cisily was to be so soon free of the world's troubles.

Martyn Fisher's house was at the nunnery end of the village, just before the lane curved and the houses ended and the road ran on a quarter mile or so between fields to the nunnery gates.  Cisily had often said how she loved there were no houses across the way from her, that she could see through a field gate to the countryside from her front doorstep.  And she had been pleased, too, that just leftward not so very far was the village green and all the village busyness.

Priors Byfield was a fair-sized village, with all a village's interests and pleasures.  Ada looked toward the green where the last drift of smoke from last night's Midsummer bonfire was a fading smudge across the sunrise.  The reveling had gone on nearly to dawn as usual, and she doubted anyone would be out to the early plowing and knew for certain that the reeve would be hard put to bring folk to the haying by late morning or maybe even afternoon despite the fact it looked to be a second fine, fair day after a week of damp and drizzle.  It had been taken as a sign of God's favor when yesterday had early cleared for the young folk to be off to the woods and ways to gather Midsummer greenery and the older folk to build up the bonfire for the evening's dancing and sport.

Father Clement had given his usual sharp sermon last Sunday against what he felt was such unchristian ways, but the Midsummer bonfire and other such reveling through the year were like the bone in the village's body: no one could imagine doing without them.  And Ada doubted that even Father Clement would have begrudged Cisily Fisher her midsummer reveling this year, if it could have replaced her slow bleeding to death in childbed.  Hardly a year married and now this, and her husband still so in love with her he had dared, when it was clear there was nothing else the midwife could do, to

Reviews for The Midwife's Tale

[Marisa Robertson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Brings you right into England’s past. Dame Frevisse takes more upon herself than the usual woman is allowed to… At least according to the priests ! very clever and a logical approach to solving crime in the past. Enjoyed it very much.