A Plague on Both Your Houses (Matthew Bartholomew Series #1)

by Susanna Gregory

Overview

For the twentieth anniversary of the Matthew Bartholomew series, Sphere reissued the books with beautiful new illustrated covers.

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Matthew Bartholomew, unorthodox but effective physician to Michaelhouse college in medieval Cambridge, is as worried as anyone about the pestilence that is ravaging Europe and seems to be approaching England. But he is distracted by the sudden and inexplicable death of the Master of Michaelhouse - a death the University authorities do not want investigated.

But Matt is determined to get to the truth, leading him into a tangle of lies and intrigue that cause him to question the innocence of his closest friends - and even his family - just as the Black Death finally arrives...

A Plague on Both Your Houses is the book that introduced Matthew Bartholomew to the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780748124374
Publisher:	Little, Brown Book Group
Publication date:	12/02/2010
Series:	Matthew Bartholomew Series , #1
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	29,049
File size:	689 KB

About the Author

Susanna Gregory was a police officer in Leeds before taking up an academic career. She has served as an environmental consultant, worked eighteen field seasons in the polar regions, and has taught comparative anatomy and biological anthropology.

She is the creator of the Matthew Bartholomew series of mysteries set in medieval Cambridge and the Thomas Chaloner adventures in Restoration London. She now lives in Wales with her husband, who is also a writer.

Editorial Reviews

In Gregory's third novel to feature medieval Cambridge physician Matthew Bartholomew and his colleague Brother Michael (A Bone of Contention, LJ 12/97), the attempt to find the murderer of a man found attached to a waterwheel takes a backseat to the arrival of the Black Death. Essential for historical fans.

Library Journal

It's Cambridge, England, in 1348. If the black plague doesn't get you, beware of the black gowns and the scheming, black-hearted academics wearing them. In his third outing, physician-teacher Matthew Bartholomew (A Bone of Contention, 1997, etc.) is once again in a fine mess. Bad things start happening with the alleged suicide of Sir John, the Master of Michaelhouse. Itþs a particularly gory suicide, too: death by entanglement in a waterwheel. And it has Matt wondering. After all, he was with Sir John only the night before, listening to the master's enthusiastic plans for the college's growth and development. And soon enough, Matt's skepticism proves warranted. There are plots, nasty ones, the aims of which the estimable Sir John was blocking. These seem at first to be centered in, of all places, that other great university. It's Oxford versus Cambridge, Matt's told, but in a contest deadlier than any that ever took place on the Thames. Only one great university can be allowed to survive. Or is all that just smokescreen? Is it just a wicked grab for money and power by envious men who see themselves as unfairly bypassed? Before Matt can get at the truth, he finds himself with a big-time medical emergency on his hands: suddenly, the Black Death strikes, felling close friends and enemies alike, and putting Matt at terrible risk. First-rate for the history, but there are so many plot lines, and so much tedious talk about them, that interesting characters eventually lose their vitality, and the 14th looms like a century and a half.

Kirkus Reviews

A good, serious and satisfying read—IRISH TIMES

From the Publisher

David Thorpe’s narration is sublime in this first installment of 23 mysteries featuring Matthew Bartholomew, who teaches medicine at Cambridge University in the fourteenth century. Thorpe masters the accents of the scholars, townsfolk, and servants. Bartholomew discovers an insidious plot between Cambridge and Oxford—each attempting to discredit the other—at the same time as the outbreak of the Black Death. Striking descriptions enhance each scene as Bartholomew tries to save lives and understand the murderous plot. It’s painful to hear the suffering of those afflicted with the plague and their agonizing treatments. Listeners can almost see and smell the town due to the sharp historical details. Bartholomew is a sympathetic character who will have listeners cheering for him. S.G.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

MAY 2018 - AudioFile