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A Deadly Brew
- The Fourth Matthew Bartholomew Chronicle
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Series: Matthew Bartholomew, Book 4
- Length: 16 hrs and 36 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction
Non-member price: $30.38
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Matthew Bartholomew, doctor of medicine and fellow of Michaelhouse, Cambridge, is travelling with a party from the college to accept the gift of the living of a parish in Suffolk. One of his companions, Unwin, an unworldly scholar, is to be installed as priest. Their journey is not without incident - they are chased by footpads, pass through an eerie village abandoned after the recent plague and find a man barely alive on a gibbet - so they reach their destination with some relief. But their thoughts of recovering while enjoying the local Pentecostal Fair are soon curtailed.
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Cambridge in 1352 is rife with terrible clashes between the fledgling university and the townspeople. Matthew Bartholomew, physician and teacher at Michaelhouse College, is trying to keep the peace when a student is murdered and the town plunges into chaos. At the same time, a skeleton is discovered that is rumoured to belong to a local martyr, and Bartholomew has his hands full investigating both deaths while the rioting intensifies....
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Michaelhouse is in uproar: Kenyngham, the saintly but ageing master, has announced his retirement, and with unseemly haste Runham arranges his own 'election' as his successor. Within days he has dismissed several members of staff, including the redoubtable laundress Agatha, and is making life so unpleasant for the scholars that even Matthew Bartholomew believes his future as physician and teacher at the college is untenable.
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In 1350 the people of Cambridge are struggling to overcome the effects of the Black Death - and with a high mortality rate among priests and monks, the townsfolk are vulnerable to sinister cults that have sprung up. At Michaelhouse, Matthew Bartholomew is training new physicians when the body of a friar is found in the massive chest that the university uses to store precious documents. While investigating, Bartholomew stumbles across a derelict church being used as a meeting place for the mysterious sect he believes is at the heart of a web of blackmail.
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Hard to follow
- By Anonymous User on 23-03-2020
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A Plague on Both Your Houses
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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.
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Hard work to keep going
- By Chris on 07-12-2019
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Believers in the theory of nominalism have set some Cambridge colleges at the throats of those who believe them to be heretics, and Michael, the senior proctor, has his work cut out to keep the peace. When a nominalist is murdered during a riot, Michael is certain he will easily find the killer amongst the Dominicans, but before he can get any sense out of them his junior proctor, Walcote, is found hanged, and he discovers that his trusted ally had arranged secret meetings at the St Ragelund Convent....
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Matthew Bartholomew, doctor of medicine and fellow of Michaelhouse, Cambridge, is travelling with a party from the college to accept the gift of the living of a parish in Suffolk. One of his companions, Unwin, an unworldly scholar, is to be installed as priest. Their journey is not without incident - they are chased by footpads, pass through an eerie village abandoned after the recent plague and find a man barely alive on a gibbet - so they reach their destination with some relief. But their thoughts of recovering while enjoying the local Pentecostal Fair are soon curtailed.
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A Bone of Contention
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Cambridge in 1352 is rife with terrible clashes between the fledgling university and the townspeople. Matthew Bartholomew, physician and teacher at Michaelhouse College, is trying to keep the peace when a student is murdered and the town plunges into chaos. At the same time, a skeleton is discovered that is rumoured to belong to a local martyr, and Bartholomew has his hands full investigating both deaths while the rioting intensifies....
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A Masterly Murder
- The Sixth Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew
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Michaelhouse is in uproar: Kenyngham, the saintly but ageing master, has announced his retirement, and with unseemly haste Runham arranges his own 'election' as his successor. Within days he has dismissed several members of staff, including the redoubtable laundress Agatha, and is making life so unpleasant for the scholars that even Matthew Bartholomew believes his future as physician and teacher at the college is untenable.
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Hard to follow
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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.
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Hard work to keep going
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- The Seventh Matthew Bartholomew Chronicle
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Believers in the theory of nominalism have set some Cambridge colleges at the throats of those who believe them to be heretics, and Michael, the senior proctor, has his work cut out to keep the peace. When a nominalist is murdered during a riot, Michael is certain he will easily find the killer amongst the Dominicans, but before he can get any sense out of them his junior proctor, Walcote, is found hanged, and he discovers that his trusted ally had arranged secret meetings at the St Ragelund Convent....
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Matthew Bartholomew jumps at the chance to travel to Ely with Brother Michael, as it will give him a unique opportunity to study in the richly stocked library of the Benedictine priory. Michael has been summoned to the city by his bishop, but it isn't until they arrive that they discover the reason - the bishop has been accused of murder. The charge seems ludicrous, but Michael takes the investigation seriously and energetically sets about his task. Almost immediately he discovers that there appears to have been a series of unexplained deaths in the area.
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In Cambridge, 1355, the colleges of the fledgling university are as much at odds with each other as they are with the ordinary townfolk. This tension has recently been heightened by the return of two well-born murderers after receiving the King's pardon, showing no remorse but ready to confront those who helped convict them. And in the midst of this Bartholomew the physician is called to the local mill to examine two corpses. It is almost a relief to be able to turn his back on the fractious town, but as always in Cambridge nothing is disconnected.
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A Killer in Winter
- The Ninth Matthew Bartholomew Chronicle
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Cambridge, 1354. Christmas approaches, and the town is gripped by the worst blizzards in living memory. As the physician Matthew Bartholomew struggles to help the poorer citizens cope with freezing temperatures, his colleagues prepare for the festivities. The weather has trapped many travellers in the town, including Matthew's erstwhile love, Philippa. She and her wealthy husband are invited to Michaelhouse for the main feast, and Matthew is horrified that he does not immediately recognise the overweight, sulky woman who once stole his heart.
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Disappointing
- By K. on 29-04-2018
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The Mark of a Murderer
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February 1355: Oxford explodes in one of the most serious riots of its history. Fearing for their lives, the scholars flee, and some choose the University at Cambridge as their temporary refuge. But they don't remain safe for long. Within hours of their arrival, the first of their number dies, followed quickly by a second. When Matthew Bartholomew begins to investigate the deaths, he uncovers evidence that the Oxford riot was not a case of random violence, but part of a carefully orchestrated plot.
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Spoiled my Enjoyment
- By Mr Simon Lovell on 06-09-2020
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The Tarnished Chalice
- By: Susanna Gregory
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It is not long before they learn that the friary in which they are staying is not the safe haven they imagine - one guest has already been murdered. It soon emerges that the dead man was holding the Hugh Chalice, a Lincoln relic with a curiously bloody history. Bartholomew and Michael are soon drawn into a web of murder, lies and suspicion in a city where neither knows who can be trusted.
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The Devil's Disciples
- The Fourteenth Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew
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Rumours of plague threaten Cambridge again, 10 years after the Black Death had almost laid waste to the town. Neither the church nor its priests had defended people from the disease, and now they turn elsewhere for protection, to pagan ritual and magical potions. It is a ripe atmosphere to be exploited by the mysterious 'Sorcerer', an anonymous magician whose increasing influence seems certain to oust both civil and church leaders from power.
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A Vein of Deceit
- The Fifteenth Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew
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There is something very amiss in the finances of Michaelhouse. Despite a new influx of well-heeled students, there is an acute lack of funds for the upkeep of the buildings, even for decent provisions. It is only when the brother in charge of the account books dies unexpectedly that some sort of explanation is revealed: he has been paying large amounts of money for goods the college itself has never received.
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The Killer of Pilgrims
- The Sixteenth Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew
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When a wealthy benefactor is found dead in Michaelhouse, Brother Michael and Matthew Bartholomew must find the culprit before the college is accused of foul play. At the same time, Cambridge is plagued by a mystery thief who is targeting rich pilgrims. Moreover, pranksters are at large in the university, staging a series of practical jokes that are growing increasingly dangerous and that are dividing scholars into bitterly opposed factions.
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To Kill or Cure
- The Thirteenth Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew
- By: Susanna Gregory
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
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Cambridge University is in dire financial straits: the town's landlords are demanding an extortionate rent rise for the students' hostels, and the plague years have left the colleges with scant resources. Tension between town and gown is at boiling point and soon explodes into violence and death. Into this maelstrom comes a charismatic physician whose healing methods owe more to magic than medicine, but his success threatens Matthew Bartholomew's professional reputation - and his life....
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To Kill or Cure
- By lone on 10-07-2019
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The Lost Abbot
- The Nineteenth Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew
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Matthew Bartholomew doesn't want to travel to Peterborough in the summer of 1358, but his friendship with the lovely Julitta Holm has caused a scandal in Cambridge, so he has no choice. He is one of a party of Bishop's Commissioners, charged to discover what happened to Peterborough's abbot, who went for a ride one day and has not been seen since. When the Commissioners arrive, they find the town in turmoil.
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Death of a Scholar
- The Twentieth Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew
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- Narrated by: David Thorpe
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In the summer of 1358 the physician Matthew Bartholomew returns to Cambridge to learn that his beloved sister is in mourning after the unexpected death of her husband, Oswald Stanmore. Aware that his son has no interest in the cloth trade that made his fortune and reputation, Oswald has left the business to his widow, but a spate of burglaries in the town distracts Matthew from supporting Edith in her grief and attempting to keep the peace between her and her wayward son.
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Some voices became mixed up.
- By Margaret on 25-11-2019
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A Poisonous Plot
- The Twenty First Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew
- By: Susanna Gregory
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1358, over a century after its foundation in Cambridge, the college of Michael House is facing a serious shortfall of funds and competition from upstarts rivals such as Zachary Hostel. Their problems are made no easier by the hostility of the town's inhabitants, who favour the university moving away to the Fens. This simmering tension threatens to break into violence when a well-known tradesman is found dead in one of the colleges.
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Disappointing
- By K. on 07-06-2018
Publisher's Summary
The fourth chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew continues the adventures of the 14th-century Cambridge physician when he is called to attend to two deaths from some poisoned wine. The opening of a new and very well-endowed college has created petty infighting amongst the academics as new appointments are made. The winter and spring have been appallingly wet, there is a fever outbreak amongst the poorer townspeople and the country is not yet fully recovered from the aftermath of the plague. The increasing reputation and wealth of the Cambridge colleges are causing dangerous tensions between the town, church and university, and then the poisoned wine kills the first victim - a student. The second victim is Dittone, the deputy master of the new college, but there seems no connection between him and the student. Matthew must establish the facts before relations between town and gown spiral out of control.
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What listeners say about A Deadly Brew
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Mary
- 24-02-2019
Great female characters shine in this volume.
This has been my favorite in the Bartholomew mysteries so far. Edith, Matilde, and the introduction of Michael’s wily and brilliant spymaster grandmother, plus the unlikeable niece make the story much more rich and interesting.
1 person found this helpful
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- Ineffable
- 24-08-2020
WAY TOO MUCH CONVERSATION
Unlike the prior books, this installment features an abundance (perhaps excessive) amounts of conversation between characters. Instead of moving the action through narrative and interaction, ‘Deadly Brew’ talks the reader into a stupor. Good story, just way too much conversation.
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- G. Plude
- 11-07-2018
Too much of the same thing
I like Matthew and Brother Michael, but it seems like the books reuse far too many common threads. Okay, I think we get it, all the universities are in competition with each other, the religious hate the laypeople, and the towns people hate the university people. They are getting repetitive.
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- Kindle Customer
- 09-08-2020
Cloak and Dagger - Most enjoyable so Far
This is my fourth Matthew Bartholomew novel (and in the order that they were published). For me it is the best so far. First to say, however, that listening to/reading the previous 'A Bone of Contention' will help and enrich the experience of this investigation. 'A Deadly Brew' is immediate and despite the high death rate still manages good, appropriate humour. David Thorpe maintains his committed and convincing perfrmance of the book, and he does not tire. The author still shows her affection for 'glower/glowered/glowering' but less so. The plot and characterisations really hold the interest and attention, as does the way Sussana Gregory deals with female characters. I have the next listen/book already in waiting and I look forward to 'A Wicked Deed', but not for a while yet. I find mixing authors keeps things fresh, and so a William Boyd is next and then a weighty Anthony Trollope. 'A Deadly Brew' is recommended.
1 person found this helpful
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- Maria
- 17-06-2019
As ever entertaining and mystery with laughter.
loving the series, put in order on buying list and it will be easier to collecting each book.
1 person found this helpful
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- Andrew Foulds
- 28-11-2017
Deadly Brew
I really enjoy these Bartholomew stories especially the two protagonists. It is complex without being over complicated and kept my interest. Looking forward to reading more in this series I also enjoy the style of the narrator
1 person found this helpful
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- Janicef
- 17-06-2020
Not the best in the series
The usual characters still developing well in the series but the convoluted intertwined plots serve only to make the reader suspect that there will several twists at the very end that tend to make a lot of book pointless simply because ,if you have read any of the series before. you know that its all smoke to cover something you have no way of working out from the investigations carried out by the doctor and his fat friend.True the facts are there but the reasoning worked out by the good guys is ,always, wrong The characterisations and the interesting setting and period keeps me coming back for more..........so far
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