The Midsummer Rose

Roger the Chapman #13

by Kate Sedley

The thirteenth in the Roger the Chapman series??Roger the Chapman is not a superstitious man. He hears stories of murders and haunted houses around the market town of Bristol, and chooses to believe the more prosaic explanation every time. But when Roger is attacked in the very house where a woman murdered her violent husband thirty years previously, he is forced to admit that something strange is going on . . .

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Medieval, Historical, British Literature, Crime

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Brenda Margaret Lilian Clarke, known by her pen name Kate Sedley, was an English historical novelist best known for her Roger the Chapman mystery series. Born in Bristol in 1926, she also published as Brenda Honeyman and Brenda Clarke.

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun, fluffy 15th c. mystery with our friend, Roger Chapman. Near death experiences, not-so-secret trysts, underground passageways, midsummer feasting, false accusations and a sketchy apothecary make for a fun read. I think the last for me though, for a while. I still really enjoy this series, but I've read like a million in a row (ok, five?) and that'll do for now. Besides, my New Year's resolution was to read more of what I already have on my bookshelves.

[Nima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate Sedley provides a beautiful description of life in medieval England in Bristol. Chapman, the pedlar, accidentally gets involved in murder and mayhem, while struggling to rejuvenate his wife's love, which has waned as a result of too many births. Not quite skilled at either endeavor, he nevertheless leads us through an interesting tale. One of my favorite parts of the book are the varied descriptions of birth control methods, and the midsummer rose tradition.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Midsummer Rose
#13 in the 15th Century English Roger the Chapman mystery series. It is 1522 and 70 year old Roger is recounting his life starting with leaving the life of a monk at Glastonbury at age 19 in 1471, to set off into the world as a wandering peddler or chapman and finds his true calling in solving mysteries.

Mid-summer is approaching as Roger the Chapman is returning home to Bristol after peddling his wares across rural England. Just a few miles from home, he seeks shelter from heavy rain in an abandoned home in which a murder had taken place fifty years before. Upon entering he is confronted and attached by 2 women and sees them kill a man. He is knocked out and put in the river to drown and is rescued before that happened. No one believes his tale as people believe he was hallucinating, his overactive mind making up things related to the old murder. But when a body turns up in the river a week later, Roger is vindicated, although it's awhile before he knows who it was who committed that murder. When another man related to the case turns up dead and a friend of Roger's is implicated, he redoubles his efforts to meddle in the law's affairs and do their job for the lazy Sheriff. And what is Timothy Plummer, spymaster to the royal family, doing in town in disguise? Is there another political plot afoot?

[Deborah Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a random pick at the library and I enjoyed very much. The histortical content seems very good. The character shortfalls of Roger the Chapman are quite humorous and I enjoy his relationship with his wife.
I really like suddenly getting insight into the history a phrase we use today. Specifically he was asked if he was "riding the night mare" and thought that might be were the modern day term "night mare" comes from.

[Cindie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roger treads on even more dangerous ground in this storyline, nearly being arrested yet again. This one is close to home and involves a former friend. It is amazing how they all think he is just nosy and even more amazing when his dreams provide the critical clue.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another engaging installment in the series with interesting characters. The story had an interesting twist.

[Peter Barrass · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do enjoy a rodger chapman book cool

[Spuddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mid-summer is approaching and Roger the Chapman is on the road, peddling his wares across rural England. Just a few miles from home, he's crossing the river with a ferryman and realizes he is near an abandoned home that his first wife had told him about--a strange murder had taken place there fifty years before and was haunted. He decides to take a look in before heading home, and ends up witnessing a stabbing, and is then clonked on the head and thrown in the river--rescued only because his leather jerkin kept him afloat so he didn't drown before the ferryman could pull him out. At first people believe he was hallucinating, his overactive mind making up things related to the old murder. But when a body turns up in the river a week later, Roger is vindicated, although it's awhile before he knows who it was who committed that murder. When another man related to the case turns up dead and a friend of Roger's is implicated, he redoubles his efforts to meddle in the law's affairs and do their job for the lazy Sheriff. And what is Timothy Plummer, spymaster to the royal family, doing in town in disguise? Is there another political plot afoot?

I really enjoy this series. Roger is one of my favorite fictional historical characters and his well-fleshed secondary characters are great, too. Very atmospheric writing that puts you in the time and place with the descriptions of sounds, smells and attitudes, too. Excellent visit as usual, although these do become a bit predictable after awhile.

[Anne Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this book up in the library when I could not see anything I knew. and I was so surprised.
A Chapman (otherwise known as a pedlar) He has contact with Richard of Gloucester and he uses him as an investigator when things go Hinky. He also investigates personal issues that happen around where he lives in Bristol.

The stories are a mixture of investigation, mystery and a little danger and a large case of History thrown in.

Chapman has a Dog who walks with him and a wife with 3 children waiting at home for him, unusually they have a house with two stories and a door that locks. He spends a lot of time away from the house and he feels safer that they have a locking door.

The midsummer Rose is a mystery and I loved the book. so much so that I went and borrowed more by Kate Sedley.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the time period, but it seemed very drawn out to me. The mystery of the kings and brothers--not very intersting. The investigations on the town level and their people were more interesting, I thought.

[Sarah Hearn · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual, a good plot, care taken with the history, a good resolution. Kate Sedley always remembers to reintroduce characters, and the ones you know are carried over from other books so it's sort of like meeting old friends.

[Marian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in the years of the kingship of Edward IV, Roger the Chapman finds himself mixed up in murder & political intrigue.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roger tries to prove a friend innocent of murder and in the process uncovers a plot to put Scotland's James the 1st's brother on the English throne.

[Nightwitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Within the first few pages, the narrator is looking up at a gorge and musing that a bridge would be really nice there. Don't be silly, responds another character, no one can build a bridge that high. Not nowadays, the narrator responds, but perhaps SOMEDAY people will be able to build a bridge that high. Someday... as in 600 years later, when the Clifton Suspension Bridge was built and installed right there. (It's lovely, you should visit.)

This kind of wink-wink nudge-nudge approach to history pretty much exemplifies the book. If you're okay with it, you'll be okay with the book; if this drives you nuts, read no further. The characters don't really seem medieval - the setting is obviously carefully researched, but at the same time their concerns aren't medieval. Chapman spends pretty much the entire book earning no money (and handing out coins as bribes into his murder investigation), which doesn't seem to bother or worry him at all, despite the fact that he has inherited an overly-expensive house and has a wife and three children to feed and is constantly telling us he's teetering on the line of poverty. When there's a digression - for example, on the subject of medieval contraception - he gives us an overview of prevailing thought in the era that doesn't seem realistic for a chapman (or a normal person), who would probably think more in terms of concrete theories; when characters are discussing poetry, they list off a couple of poets and quote them - how would characters of this educational standing have heard of all of them? And memorized their poetry? It's one of those mysteries where the narrator doesn't really seem bothered by life: the focus is on the mystery and the details of the setting, not on fitting the narrator into the setting. The setting feels well-researched but it doesn't feel real. All the same, an easy entertaining book, and I really enjoyed learning about medieval Bristol.