The John, the Lord Chamberlain series is a series of historical mystery novels by Mary Reed and Eric Mayer. Also known as the "John the Eunuch" mysteries, the novels feature John, Emperor Justinian's Lord Chamberlain, a eunuch who solves mysteries in 6th-century Constantinople.[1]Publishers Weekly praises the series' "Subtle, well-drawn characters, from the ascetic John to the capricious and enigmatic Justinian; deft descriptive detail revealing life in the late Roman Empire; and sharp dialogue make this another winner in this outstanding historical series."[2]
The life story of John the Lord Chamberlain (sometimes also known as John the Eununch) is told in disconnected episodes throughout all the books, but the series begins with John being a freed ex-slave who now serves the emperor Justinian as the Imperial Chamberlain.
John was born somewhere in Greece to a rich family and was sent to the Academy at Athens to learn under the scholar Philo (Bk 2) but grew impatient and left the academy to serve as a mercenary overseas, going as far as Britain (Bk 1). It's revealed that because one of his comrades drowned in a river, John is hydrophobic and is afraid of swimming.
Afterwards, John left and became a travelling performer with a theatrical group. On Crete, he falls in love with Cornelia, a gymnast (Bk 3). Both John and Cornelia consummate their relationship, but near the border with the Sassanian empire, John is abducted, castrated, and then sold off to the Imperial government as a eunuch. He first works under the Master of the Plate, Leukos (who is murdered by a corrupt innkeeper in Bk 1), but wins his freedom and eventually rises to the rank of Imperial Chamberlain after investigation into the death of a Byzantine magnate named Hypatius (Bk 4).
Although John enjoys the confidence of the emperor, his escapades and investigations makes him many enemies, from the page boy Hektor all the way to the empress Theodora (whose murder of a young Gothic prince has to be covered up by John in Bk 2). John however is not without allies, ranging from his colleagues Felix and Anatolius, all the way to his servants Hypatia and Peter, and much later his daughter by Cornelia, named Europa.
Referencesedit
^Picker, Lenny (March 3, 2010). "Mysteries of History". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
^ ab"Fiction Book Review: Eight for Eternity, A John the Lord Chamberlain Mystery". PublishersWeekly.com. February 8, 2010. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
^"Fiction Book Review: One for Sorrow". PublishersWeekly.com. November 15, 1999. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
^"Fiction Book Review: Two for Joy by Mary Reed, Author, Eric Mayer, Author, Eric Mayer, Joint Author Poisoned Pen Press $23.95 (0p) ISBN 978-1-890208-37-0". PublishersWeekly.com.
^"Fiction Book Review: THREE FOR a LETTER by Mary Reed, Author, Eric Mayer, Author, Eric Mayer, Joint Author . Poisoned Pen $24.95 (242p) ISBN 978-1-890208-82-0".
^"Fiction Book Review: FOUR FOR a BOY: A John the Eunuch Mystery by Mary Reed, Author, Eric Mayer, Author . Poisoned Pen $24.95 (292p) ISBN 978-1-59058-031-8".
^"Fiction Book Review: FIVE FOR SILVER by Mary Reed, Author, Eric Mayer, Author . Poisoned Pen $24.95 (259p) ISBN 978-1-59058-112-4". PublishersWeekly.com.
^"Fiction Book Review: Six for Gold: A John the Eunuch Mystery by Mary Reed, Author, Eric Mayer, Author . Poisoned Pen $24.95 (267p) ISBN 978-1-59058-145-2".
^"Fiction Book Review: Seven for a Secret by Mary Reed, Author, Eric Mayer, Author . Poisoned Pen $24.95 (296p) ISBN 978-1-59058-489-7". PublishersWeekly.com.
^"Fiction Book Review: Nine for the Devil: A John, the Lord Chamberlain Mystery by Mary Reed and Eric Mayer. Poisoned Pen, $24.95 (318p) ISBN 978-1-59058-994-6".
External linksedit
Wikiquote has quotations related to John, the Lord Chamberlain.
January 01, 1970
john, lord, chamberlain, series, series, historical, mystery, novels, mary, reed, eric, mayer, also, known, john, eunuch, mysteries, novels, feature, john, emperor, justinian, lord, chamberlain, eunuch, solves, mysteries, century, constantinople, publishers, w. The John the Lord Chamberlain series is a series of historical mystery novels by Mary Reed and Eric Mayer Also known as the John the Eunuch mysteries the novels feature John Emperor Justinian s Lord Chamberlain a eunuch who solves mysteries in 6th century Constantinople 1 Publishers Weekly praises the series Subtle well drawn characters from the ascetic John to the capricious and enigmatic Justinian deft descriptive detail revealing life in the late Roman Empire and sharp dialogue make this another winner in this outstanding historical series 2 John the Lord Chamberlain series1st edition One for Sorrow 1999 One for Sorrow 1999 Two for Joy 2000 Three for a Letter 2001 Four for a Boy 2003 Five for Silver 2004 Six for Gold 2005 Seven for a Secret 2008 Eight for Eternity 2010 Nine for the Devil 2012 Ten for Dying 2014 AuthorMary Reed Eric MayerCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishGenreHistorical mysteryPublisherPoisoned Pen PressPublishedNovember 15 1999 presentMedia typePrint Hardcover amp Paperback Contents 1 Novels 2 Fictional character biography 3 References 4 External linksNovels editOne for Sorrow 1999 ISBN 978 1890208196 Poisoned Pen Press 3 Two for Joy 2000 ISBN 978 1890208370 Poisoned Pen Press 4 Three for a Letter 2001 ISBN 978 1890208820 Poisoned Pen Press 5 Four for a Boy 2003 ISBN 978 1590580318 Poisoned Pen Press 6 Five for Silver 2004 ISBN 978 1590581124 Poisoned Pen Press 7 Six for Gold 2005 ISBN 978 1590581452 Poisoned Pen Press 8 Seven for a Secret 2008 ISBN 978 1590584897 Poisoned Pen Press 9 Eight for Eternity 2010 ISBN 978 1590587027 Poisoned Pen Press 2 Nine for the Devil 2012 ISBN 978 1590589946 Poisoned Pen Press 10 Ten for Dying 2014 ISBN 978 1464202278 Poisoned Pen Press Murder in Megara 2015 ISBN 978 1464204081 Poisoned Pen Press An Empire for Ravens 2018 ISBN 978 1464211102 Poisoned Pen Press Fictional character biography editThe life story of John the Lord Chamberlain sometimes also known as John the Eununch is told in disconnected episodes throughout all the books but the series begins with John being a freed ex slave who now serves the emperor Justinian as the Imperial Chamberlain John was born somewhere in Greece to a rich family and was sent to the Academy at Athens to learn under the scholar Philo Bk 2 but grew impatient and left the academy to serve as a mercenary overseas going as far as Britain Bk 1 It s revealed that because one of his comrades drowned in a river John is hydrophobic and is afraid of swimming Afterwards John left and became a travelling performer with a theatrical group On Crete he falls in love with Cornelia a gymnast Bk 3 Both John and Cornelia consummate their relationship but near the border with the Sassanian empire John is abducted castrated and then sold off to the Imperial government as a eunuch He first works under the Master of the Plate Leukos who is murdered by a corrupt innkeeper in Bk 1 but wins his freedom and eventually rises to the rank of Imperial Chamberlain after investigation into the death of a Byzantine magnate named Hypatius Bk 4 Although John enjoys the confidence of the emperor his escapades and investigations makes him many enemies from the page boy Hektor all the way to the empress Theodora whose murder of a young Gothic prince has to be covered up by John in Bk 2 John however is not without allies ranging from his colleagues Felix and Anatolius all the way to his servants Hypatia and Peter and much later his daughter by Cornelia named Europa References edit Picker Lenny March 3 2010 Mysteries of History PublishersWeekly com Retrieved November 13 2013 a b Fiction Book Review Eight for Eternity A John the Lord Chamberlain Mystery PublishersWeekly com February 8 2010 Retrieved November 20 2013 Fiction Book Review One for Sorrow PublishersWeekly com November 15 1999 Retrieved November 20 2013 Fiction Book Review Two for Joy by Mary Reed Author Eric Mayer Author Eric Mayer Joint Author Poisoned Pen Press 23 95 0p ISBN 978 1 890208 37 0 PublishersWeekly com Fiction Book Review THREE FOR a LETTER by Mary Reed Author Eric Mayer Author Eric Mayer Joint Author Poisoned Pen 24 95 242p ISBN 978 1 890208 82 0 Fiction Book Review FOUR FOR a BOY A John the Eunuch Mystery by Mary Reed Author Eric Mayer Author Poisoned Pen 24 95 292p ISBN 978 1 59058 031 8 Fiction Book Review FIVE FOR SILVER by Mary Reed Author Eric Mayer Author Poisoned Pen 24 95 259p ISBN 978 1 59058 112 4 PublishersWeekly com Fiction Book Review Six for Gold A John the Eunuch Mystery by Mary Reed Author Eric Mayer Author Poisoned Pen 24 95 267p ISBN 978 1 59058 145 2 Fiction Book Review Seven for a Secret by Mary Reed Author Eric Mayer Author Poisoned Pen 24 95 296p ISBN 978 1 59058 489 7 PublishersWeekly com Fiction Book Review Nine for the Devil A John the Lord Chamberlain Mystery by Mary Reed and Eric Mayer Poisoned Pen 24 95 318p ISBN 978 1 59058 994 6 External links edit nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to John the Lord Chamberlain Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John the Lord Chamberlain series amp oldid 1131552189, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
