A Plague On Both Your Houses: The First Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew (Chronicles of Matthew Bartholomew)

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It took me quite a while to start to care about the main character, and the mystery is more about why murders are being committed then by whom. Ecclesiastes declares: ‘For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered … Like the fool, the wise too must die! I feel like the author captures the feel of 14th century life very well; the character types and their motivations feel very of their time. Act 1, scene 1 A street fight breaks out between the Montagues and the Capulets, which is broken up by the ruler of Verona, Prince Escalus.

Two gentlemen of Verona] a plague upon this howling [ Tempest] a plague of all drums [ All's Well That Ends Well] a plague of all cowards [ Henry IV Part 2] a plague of these pickle-herring [ Two Gentlemen of Verona] a plague a both your houses [ Romeo and Juliet] . This is the first time I've read one of the books in this series and I can't wait to start the next one.And the academic setting of Cambridge University is and always will be a much loved and massively personally appreciated added bonus, an evocative painting of academic life in Medieval Cambridge, Medieval Britain, of both its positives and also its negatives. She uses a lot of real facts about the growth of the town and University in this first century of its history together. Unfortunately, the mystery is not as compelling as it becomes overly complex with several convoluted threads and an abundance of characters with a mish-mash of motivations and agendas. He jumped violently, as a large cat stalked past his hiding place, glancing at him briefly with alert yellow eyes.

But there any resemblance to the comparatively warm-hearted Cadfael series ends: the tone and subject matter of the Gregory novels is far darker and does not shrink from portraying the harsh realities of life in the Middle Ages.And, again, ‘I can see no point in the happiness of angels … I do not want to believe that death is the gateway to another life. As we are in the 14th century, it comes as no surprise that he is more successful in solving the first mystery rather than the second. Come on, old friend', he said, tugging Bartholomew's sleeve to make him move, 'or you will make me miss my dinner. This is the first story on Mathew Bartholomew series when he tries to solve some murder in Cambridge University and treat with some unorthodox ways some patients affected by the Plague. But the Plague was never far away and the theatres were major spreaders, so when it struck London again in 1601 and again in1603, the theatres, seen as particularly dangerous spots for the spread of the disease, were again closed.