Exeter, Christmas 1321. Ralph Glover, a respected maker of gloves for the bishop, is murdered before the cathedral’s boy-bishop celebrations. His apprentice is arrested, but a second death within the cathedral close shows that the first accusation has not contained the danger.
Simon and Baldwin investigate charitable reputations, workshop relationships and secrets held by clerics and citizens. The festive inversion of authority provides cover for movement through the close, while the murders reveal how status and public generosity can conceal coercion and private wrongdoing.
The boy-bishop custom temporarily reverses ecclesiastical hierarchy, allowing a child to imitate episcopal authority during the Christmas season. That ritual inversion provides both colour and opportunity for concealment inside the cathedral close. The murders reveal the contrast between public charity and private coercion in a community where guild work, clerical status and local reputation are closely intertwined.
Cecelia Holland
20 books
Elizabeth Chadwick
26 books
David Field
46 books
Rosemary Sutcliff
38 books
Henry Treece
35 books