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    A Death in the Venetian Quarter: A Medieval Mystery
    The Lark's Lament: A Fools' Guild Mystery
    Thirteenth Night: A Fool's Guild Medieval Mystery
    Ebook series5 titles

    Fools' Guild Mysteries Series

    By Alan Gordon

    4/5

    ()

    About this series

    Theophilos of The Fool's Guild returns in the next story from author Alan Gordon of murder, mayhem, and mummery in 13th century France.

    "Only a fool would pass this one up." —Laurie R. King

    In 1205, Theophilos—a fool by trade, a family man by choice, and a spy by design—belongs, along with his family, to the Fools' Guild, a group that secretly maintains the fragile order of society. In Toulouse, that order is threatened when, unexpectedly, a man claiming to be a full brother of the ruling count is found one morning in a local bordello next to a dead whore, killed with his own sword. Now, Theophilos and his family must uncover the truth.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateSep 21, 2006
    A Death in the Venetian Quarter: A Medieval Mystery
    The Lark's Lament: A Fools' Guild Mystery
    Thirteenth Night: A Fool's Guild Medieval Mystery

    Titles in the series (5)

    • 1

      Thirteenth Night: A Fool's Guild Medieval Mystery
      Thirteenth Night: A Fool's Guild Medieval Mystery

      Thirteenth Night: A Fool's Guild Medieval Mystery

      Alan Gordon
      4/5 - 9 ratings
      4/5 - 9 ratings

      Twelfth Night is for revelry, Thirteenth Night is for revelations... "Orsino is dead." The message sends the jester Feste, disguised as a German merchant, back to the duchy where, years earlier, he had foiled the plans of Saladin's agent, Malvolio, and secured the duchy for Orsino and his bride, Viola. As agent of the Fool's Guild, Feste must uncover the cause of Orsino's death, be it accidental, suicide, or murder. Has Malvolio returned to win the revenge he swore? Or has another, more sinister cabal plunged the duchy into political upheaval? Set in a brilliantly recreated time of pageantry and squalor, THIRTEENTH NIGHT brings alive a world long vanished. From the fetid canals of Venice to the high seas to the castles and hidden Roman tunnels of Orsino, here is a tale that will keep readers in its thrall until its dramatic and unexpected final scene...

      Twelfth Night is for revelry, Thirteenth Night is for revelations... "Orsino is dead." The message sends the jester Feste, disguised as a German merchant, back to the duchy where, years earlier, he had foiled the plans of Saladin's agent, Malvolio, and secured the duchy for Orsino and his bride, Viola. As agent of the Fool's Guild, Feste must uncover the cause of Orsino's death, be it accidental, suicide, or murder. Has Malvolio returned to win the revenge he swore? Or has another, more sinister cabal plunged the duchy into political upheaval? Set in a brilliantly recreated time of pageantry and squalor, THIRTEENTH NIGHT brings alive a world long vanished. From the fetid canals of Venice to the high seas to the castles and hidden Roman tunnels of Orsino, here is a tale that will keep readers in its thrall until its dramatic and unexpected final scene...

    • 3

      A Death in the Venetian Quarter: A Medieval Mystery
      A Death in the Venetian Quarter: A Medieval Mystery

      A Death in the Venetian Quarter: A Medieval Mystery

      Alan Gordon
      4/5 - 4 ratings
      4/5 - 4 ratings

      In 1203, the relative peace of the Byzantine Empire is imperiled when the ships of the Fourth Crusade show up outside the walls of Constantinople. Instead of traveling to the Holy Land to battle the infidels, the Crusade, having sailed out of Venice, has been subverted and is now besieging the city. The jester known as Feste, his wife Viola, and their compatriots within the city are faced with catastrophe as the peace the Fool's Guild has worked so hard to maintain is about to be shattered. With such a disaster looming, the death of one silk merchant in the Venetian Quarter of Constantinople seems insignificant. But Philoxenites, the Imperial Treasurer and one of the most power schemers at court, has taken a special interest in the case and wants Feste to investigate Venetian merchant's death. The merchant, of course, was not what he appeared to be and, if Constantinople is to have any hope of surviving the troops outside its gates, Feste must quickly uncover what forces were at work when the merchant lost his life.

      In 1203, the relative peace of the Byzantine Empire is imperiled when the ships of the Fourth Crusade show up outside the walls of Constantinople. Instead of traveling to the Holy Land to battle the infidels, the Crusade, having sailed out of Venice, has been subverted and is now besieging the city. The jester known as Feste, his wife Viola, and their compatriots within the city are faced with catastrophe as the peace the Fool's Guild has worked so hard to maintain is about to be shattered. With such a disaster looming, the death of one silk merchant in the Venetian Quarter of Constantinople seems insignificant. But Philoxenites, the Imperial Treasurer and one of the most power schemers at court, has taken a special interest in the case and wants Feste to investigate Venetian merchant's death. The merchant, of course, was not what he appeared to be and, if Constantinople is to have any hope of surviving the troops outside its gates, Feste must quickly uncover what forces were at work when the merchant lost his life.

    • 6

      The Lark's Lament: A Fools' Guild Mystery
      The Lark's Lament: A Fools' Guild Mystery

      The Lark's Lament: A Fools' Guild Mystery

      Alan Gordon
      4/5 - 1 rating
      4/5 - 1 rating

      In 1204 A.D., the Fools' Guild is in hiding, under attack from the forces of Pope Innocent III. Theophilos and Claudia, jesters with the Guild, are sent to enlist the help of a former guild member - the minstrel Folquet, now the abbot Folq at a Cistercian monastery - to intercede with the pope on their behalf. But while they are at the abbey pleading their case, a gruesome murder takes place - a monk is killed in the librarium and a cryptic message written on the wall in his blood. In the wake of the murder, Folq issues an ultimatum to Theophilos. If he learns the meaning of the message and finds the killer, Folq will help the Guild. But if the Jester fails, Folq will have the pope declare the Guild anathema. With the future of the Guild on the line, Theophilos, his wife, and their apprentice go off in search of Folquet's past and the meaning of the message, uncovering a long-ago series of events that were as deadly then as they are proving to be now.

      In 1204 A.D., the Fools' Guild is in hiding, under attack from the forces of Pope Innocent III. Theophilos and Claudia, jesters with the Guild, are sent to enlist the help of a former guild member - the minstrel Folquet, now the abbot Folq at a Cistercian monastery - to intercede with the pope on their behalf. But while they are at the abbey pleading their case, a gruesome murder takes place - a monk is killed in the librarium and a cryptic message written on the wall in his blood. In the wake of the murder, Folq issues an ultimatum to Theophilos. If he learns the meaning of the message and finds the killer, Folq will help the Guild. But if the Jester fails, Folq will have the pope declare the Guild anathema. With the future of the Guild on the line, Theophilos, his wife, and their apprentice go off in search of Folquet's past and the meaning of the message, uncovering a long-ago series of events that were as deadly then as they are proving to be now.

    • 7

      The Moneylender of Toulouse: A Fools' Guild Mystery
      The Moneylender of Toulouse: A Fools' Guild Mystery

      The Moneylender of Toulouse: A Fools' Guild Mystery

      Alan Gordon
      4/5 - 3 ratings
      4/5 - 3 ratings

      In 1204 A.D., Theophilos, jester and agent for the Fools' Guild, is sent to Toulouse with his jester wife, infant daughter and young apprentice with one simple mission – get the current Bishop to quietly retire so that the position can be filled with one more sympathetic to the Guild's goals. Arriving just before Christmas, they quickly learn that the Bishop is in some hot water with a man widely known as the local money lender. A man who, a day after pressing the Bishop particularly hard, is found floating face down in a tanner's vat. Now, with time running out for him to accomplish their mission and thus protect the Guild, Theophilos has but one option left: find out what actually happened the night that the Moneylender of Toulouse ended up so spectacularly dead.

      In 1204 A.D., Theophilos, jester and agent for the Fools' Guild, is sent to Toulouse with his jester wife, infant daughter and young apprentice with one simple mission – get the current Bishop to quietly retire so that the position can be filled with one more sympathetic to the Guild's goals. Arriving just before Christmas, they quickly learn that the Bishop is in some hot water with a man widely known as the local money lender. A man who, a day after pressing the Bishop particularly hard, is found floating face down in a tanner's vat. Now, with time running out for him to accomplish their mission and thus protect the Guild, Theophilos has but one option left: find out what actually happened the night that the Moneylender of Toulouse ended up so spectacularly dead.

    • 8

      The Parisian Prodigal: A Fools' Guild Mystery
      The Parisian Prodigal: A Fools' Guild Mystery

      The Parisian Prodigal: A Fools' Guild Mystery

      Alan Gordon
      0 ratings
      0 ratings

      Theophilos of The Fool's Guild returns in the next story from author Alan Gordon of murder, mayhem, and mummery in 13th century France. "Only a fool would pass this one up." —Laurie R. King In 1205, Theophilos—a fool by trade, a family man by choice, and a spy by design—belongs, along with his family, to the Fools' Guild, a group that secretly maintains the fragile order of society. In Toulouse, that order is threatened when, unexpectedly, a man claiming to be a full brother of the ruling count is found one morning in a local bordello next to a dead whore, killed with his own sword. Now, Theophilos and his family must uncover the truth.

      Theophilos of The Fool's Guild returns in the next story from author Alan Gordon of murder, mayhem, and mummery in 13th century France. "Only a fool would pass this one up." —Laurie R. King In 1205, Theophilos—a fool by trade, a family man by choice, and a spy by design—belongs, along with his family, to the Fools' Guild, a group that secretly maintains the fragile order of society. In Toulouse, that order is threatened when, unexpectedly, a man claiming to be a full brother of the ruling count is found one morning in a local bordello next to a dead whore, killed with his own sword. Now, Theophilos and his family must uncover the truth.

    Author

    Alan Gordon

    Alan Gordon is an attorney with the Legal Aid Society and the author of books including Jester Leaps In. He lives with his family in Queens, NY.

    Read more from Alan Gordon

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