Margaret Frazer, born Gail Lynn Brown (November 26, 1946 – February 4, 2013), was an American

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

ist, best known for more than twenty

historical mystery The historical mystery or historical whodunit is a subgenre of two literary genres, historical fiction and mystery fiction. These works are set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves t ...

novels and a variety of short stories. The pen name was originally shared by Frazer and Mary Monica Pulver Kuhfeld in their collaboration on ''The Novice's Tale'', the first of the ''Sister Frevisse'' books featuring the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

Dame Frevisse. Their collaboration came to an end with ''The Murderer's Tale'', the sixth book in the series. Starting with the

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

-nominated ''The Prioress' Tale'', the Margaret Frazer pen name was used exclusively by Gail Brown. She also wrote the ''Player Joliffe'' mysteries, starring the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

actor Joliffe. Frazer was born and grew up in

Kewanee, Illinois Kewanee () is a city in Henry County, Illinois, United States. "Kewanee" is the Winnebago word for greater prairie chicken, which lived there. The population was 12,509 at the 2020 census, down from 12,944 in 2000. Geography According to the ...

. An actress and member of the

Society for Creative Anachronism The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century. A quip often used within the SCA describes ...

, she lived and worked in

Elk River, Minnesota Elk River is a city in Sherburne County, Minnesota, United States, approximately 34 miles northwest of Minneapolis. It is situated at the confluence of the Mississippi and Elk Rivers. The population was 25,835 at the 2020 census, making Elk Ri ...

. Frazer died February 4, 2013, from

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

, aged 66.

Overview

The first six ''Dame Frevisse'' mysteries were written as a collaborative effort between Frazer and Mary Monica Pulver Kuhfeld. The rest of the series was written by Margaret Frazer alone. Frevisse is a nun at the small, fictional, 15th-century

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

convent of St. Frideswide's, with its ten (more or less) nuns; the neighboring village of Prior Byfield belongs partly to the priory and partly to Lord Lovell (an historical figure). Six of the novels are set entirely at the priory and/or village; in others Frevisse leaves the convent, either to accompany another nun on some family or convent business or on business of her own. Many of the novels have the quality of "English village" murder mysteries, in which we see at close hand the everyday material life (and the intellectual and spiritual life) of various classes of people and observe the tensions within and between them; but here, the "everyday" is of the 15th century, carefully researched. Some of the later novels are primarily historical novels, in which Frevisse serves as an observer of the well-documented events and characters which brought on the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

, though there is always a murder for her to solve. Dame Frevisse is related to

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...

, author of the ''

Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''magnum opus' ...

'', by her aunt's marriage to Geoffrey's son,

Thomas Chaucer Thomas Chaucer (c. 136718 November 1434) was an English courtier and politician. The son of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer and his wife Philippa Roet, Thomas was linked socially and by family to senior members of the English nobility, though he ...

. Titles of the Frevisse novels follow the format of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, e.g., ''The Novice's Tale,'' ''The Prioress's Tale.'' There is no relation between Frazer's title characters and Chaucer's, even when they have the same role in life (e.g. Chaucer's Prioress is a dainty, sentimental woman while Frazer's is an ambitious, domineering one). However, there is the same implication that we are offered a variety of points of view. Each book begins with a chapter or passage focusing on the title character; this is followed by a change to Frevisse's perspective, which dominates the novel, though we return from time to time to the point of view of the title character. The role of the title character varies from book to book: murderer, victim, a person in power or a victim of others’ power. Seven of the title characters in the Dame Frevisse mysteries have been women. The novels of the series are set from 1431 to 1452, during the reign of

Henry VI of England Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English thron ...

; they overlap

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Henry VI, part 1 ''Henry VI, Part 1'', often referred to as ''1 Henry VI'', is a Shakespearean history, history play by William Shakespeare—possibly in collaboration with Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Nashe—believed to have been written in 1591. It is set ...

'' and ''

Henry VI, part 2 ''Henry VI, Part 2'' (often written as ''2 Henry VI'') is a Shakespearean history, history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1591 and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England. Whereas ''Henry VI, Part 1'' ...

''. They proceed in chronological sequence, and the heroine ages from a thirtyish nun in 1431 through the next twenty years. In the early novels, Frevisse's uncle (by marriage)

, son of the poet, provides a contact point with historical events as he brings news of the world to St. Frideswide's; at his funeral (''The Bishop’s Tale''), Frevisse establishes a relationship with her cousin

Alice Chaucer Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

, who is, in her third marriage, united to

William de la Pole William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, count/marquis/duke (as the novels progress) of Suffolk, one of the most ambitious men around the king. In the same novel, Frevisse also impresses Bishop Beaufort, one of the most powerful men in the country. Out of these relationships come various missions in which Frevisse must assist Alice, Beaufort, or both in protecting various interests at the royal court. A character who occasionally appears is Joliffe, a man with a mysterious past. Frazer's second set of mysteries, also set in 15th-century England, feature "Joliffe the Player", a spin-off character from the Dame Frevisse series, appearing first in ''The Servant's Tale'' and crossing paths with Frevisse again in ''The Prioress's Tale'', ''The Bastard's Tale'', and ''The Traitor's Tale''. The Joliffe series is set in the mid-1430s; thus these novels sometimes feel like "prequels" to his appearances in Dame Frevisse novels set in a later decade. The first three Joliffe novels present the life of an acting troupe traveling through the English countryside, with Lord Lovell as their patron after the end of the first novel. In the fourth, ''A Play of Lords'', Joliffe is recruited as a spy for Bishop Beaufort and becomes involved in the political intrigues leading up to the

. The fifth book, ''A Play of Treachery,'' takes him away from the players to France on behalf of Bishop Beaufort. When Joliffe again crosses paths with Dame Frevisse in ''The Traitor's Tale'', he is employed as a spy for the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

, after the death of Bishop Beaufort. The sixth Joliffe mystery, ''A Play of Piety'', is set in an English hospital where the actors' troupe has taken refuge. In this setting, strong personalities contend: women against the men who are supposedly in charge; a female ''medica'' or herbalist versus the male physician; and a toxic narcissist against everyone else. Playing the atypical role of a servant to the nursing sisters who run the hospital in open defiance of those who would dominate them, Joliffe solves the mystery. Margaret Frazer was a Herodotus award winner, two-time

Minnesota Book Awards The Minnesota Book Awards are presented annually for books created by writers, illustrators or book artists who are Minnesotans. The award, originally established in 1988, is organized by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. History ...

nominee, and two-time

Edgar award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

finalist.

Bibliography

Dame Frevisse series

# ''The Novice's Tale'' (1992) # ''The Servant's Tale'' (1993) # ''The Outlaw's Tale'' (1994) # ''The Bishop's Tale'' (1994) # ''The Boy's Tale'' (1995) # ''The Murderer's Tale'' (1996) # ''The Prioress' Tale'' (1997) # ''The Maiden's Tale'' (1998) # ''The Reeve's Tale'' (1999) # ''The Squire's Tale'' (2000) # ''The Clerk's Tale'' (2002) # ''The Bastard's Tale'' (2003) # ''The Hunter's Tale'' (2004) # ''The Widow's Tale'' (2005) # ''The Sempster's Tale'' (2006) # ''The Traitor's Tale'' (2007) # ''The Apostate's Tale'' (2008)

Joliffe series

# ''A Play of Isaac'' (2004) # ''A Play of Dux Moraud'' (2005) # ''A Play of Knaves'' (2006) # ''A Play of Lords'' (2007) # ''A Play of Treachery'' (2009) # ''A Play of Piety'' (2010) # ''A Play of Heresy'' (2011)

Awards

The second in her Dame Frevisse series, ''The Servant's Tale'' received a nomination at the 1994

Edgar Awards The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

in the "Best Paperback Original" category. The following year ''The Bishop's Tale'' received a "Best Novel" nomination at the 1995 Minnesota Book Awards convention. She was next nominated in 1998 with the novel ''The Prioress' Tale'', again for the "Paperback Original" award at the Edgars. Her last novel to receive an award nomination was ''The Reeve's Tale'' which at the 2000 Minnesota Book Awards, again in the "Best Novel" category. She also received the Herodotus Award for "Best Short Story Historical Mystery" in 2000 for her short story ''Neither Pity, Love, Nor Fear''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frazer, Margaret 1946 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American mystery writers American historical novelists American women novelists Deaths from cancer in Minnesota Deaths from breast cancer People from Kewanee, Illinois People from Elk River, Minnesota Pseudonymous women writers Writers of historical mysteries Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages Women mystery writers Novelists from Illinois Novelists from Minnesota 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Women historical novelists 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers