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    Death Before Compline
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    Death Before Compline
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    Death Before Compline
    Ebook163 pages2 hours

    Death Before Compline

    By Sharan Newman

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Sharan Newman’s reputation as a critically acclaimed writer of medieval mysteries continues with this collection of short stories, all previously published and collected here for the first time in Death Before Compline. The stories take us into 12th century Europe and show with sympathy and humor, the astounding variety of good intentions gone wrong and the corruption of human desires. Many of the stories feature Catherine LeVendeur, the beloved protagonist of ten of Newman’s novels, and Solomon, Catherine’s Jewish merchant cousin. These stories takes us into the day to day reality of medieval religious and family life, as it is lived by a variety of people: from nuns, noble people, scholars, courtiers, merchants, hermetic spinsters and children.

    Fans of the novels will find this collection delightful as the author explains the origins of these stories and the evolution of her protagonists in the novels; these tales also serve as a great introduction to her work for newcomers.

    PRAISE: 

    “Readers looking for quality historical fiction ought to add Newman’s name to their lists of must-read authors. In addition to providing readers with a vivid look at life in France in the twelfth century, Newman also offers absorbing stories with well-drawn sympathetic characters.” —Mystery Scene

    “Reading a Sharan Newman novel is like journeying back to medieval times. The sights and sounds of Paris are so vividly described that they mesmerize the reader as they enjoy a fine tale of mystery.” —Romantic Times

    “Extremely intelligent, highly suspenseful, and richly textured historical fiction.” —Booklist

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDCA, Inc.
    Release dateJan 30, 2014
    ISBN9781940941295
    Unavailable
    Death Before Compline
    Author

    Sharan Newman

    Sharan Newman is a medieval historian and author. She took her Master’s degree in Medieval Literature at Michigan State University and then did her doctoral work at the University of California at Santa Barbara in Medieval Studies, specializing in twelfth-century France. She is a member of the Medieval Academy and the Medieval Association of the Pacific. Rather than teach, Newman chose to use her education to write novels set in the Middle Ages, including three Arthurian fantasies and more than half a dozen mysteries set in twelfth-century France, featuring Catherine LeVendeur, a one-time student of Heloise at the Paraclete; her husband, Edgar, an Anglo-Scot; and Solomon, a Jewish merchant of Paris. The books focus on the life of the bourgeoisie and minor nobility and also the uneasy relations between Christians and Jews at that time. They also incorporate events of the twelfth-century such as the Second Crusade and the rise of the Cathars. The Catherine Levendeur mysteries have been nominated for many awards. Sharan won the Macavity Award for best first mystery for Death Comes As Epiphany, the Herodotus Award for best historical mystery for Cursed in the Blood, and The Witch in the Well won the Bruce Alexander award for best historical mystery. Her mystery The Shanghai Tunnel is set in Portland in 1868. Newman has also written non-fiction books, including The Real History Behind the Da Vince Code and The Real History Behind the Templars. Newman lives on a mountainside in Oregon.

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    Reviews for Death Before Compline

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    • 4/5
      First Line: (From the Introduction) The seven stories in this collection were written between 1996 and 2011.It's been a while since Sharan Newman's last Catherine Levendeur mystery, so I was thrilled to hear of this collection of short stories set in twelfth century Europe. This slim little volume begins with a special introduction in which Newman gives an overview of the series in its entirety. If I hadn't already read the books, this overview would have had me ordering them straight away.Each of the seven stories focuses on an aspect of the family and of medieval France. The first, "The Beast Without," is based upon a story by the twelfth-century writer Marie de France. I felt as if I'd walked into a fairy tale, and as it so happens, "The Beast Without" is one of my favorites in this book."Conventual Spirit" takes place before the start of the mystery series and gives us a glimpse of Catherine in a convent in Brittany-- and why she didn't fit in with the nuns there. "Death Before Compline" is my other favorite in this selection and is the reason for the recipes that are included in the back of the book.Each story begins a bit of background in which we learn that Newman wanted to explore a certain character's life, or that it was written with a certain theme in mind. I do enjoy this glimpses into the writing process, and each one adds to its short story.Death Before Compline will appeal to all: those who are already fans of Catherine Levendeur, and those who have yet to read the books. In fact, these short stories are an excellent introduction to the series, so if you're an historical mystery lover who's thinking of trying Sharan Newman's books for the first time, this would be a good place to start.