The Mercy Seller A Novel [Paperback]

In the fifteenth century, with religious intolerance spreading like wildfire across Europe, Englishwoman Anna Bookman and her grandfather, Finn, earn a living in Prague by illuminating precious books---including forbidden translations of the Bible. As their secret trade grows ever more hazardous, Finn urges Anna to seek sanctuary in England. Her passage abroad, however, will be anything but easy.

Meanwhile, a priest in London, Brother Gabriel, dutifully obeys church doctrine by granting pardons . . . for a small fee. But when he is sent to France in disguise to find the source of the banned manuscripts finding their way to England, he meets Anna, who has set up a temporary stall as a bookseller. She has no way of knowing that the rich merchant frequenting her stall is actually a priest---just as he does not know that he has met the woman for whom he will renounce his church.
It is only in England, which is far from the safe harbor once imagined, that their dangerous secrets will be revealed.

BRENDA RICKMAN VANTREASEis a former English teacher and librarian who has traveled extensively in the British Isles. She holds a Ph.D. in English and lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Reading Group Questions

1.The Mercy Selleris a book about loyalty and the ordering of priorities. Gabriel has taken an oath to the Church and to his Dominican Order. What do you think of the choices he makes when that allegiance comes into conflict with his loyalty to Anna and their child?

2. Take a moment to discuss the freedom of speech within the context of this bookand beyond. Do you think the practice of book-burning is heretical in and of itself? Why or why not?

3. To whom does Anna owe a debt of loyalty? In what ways does sheor doesn't shekeep her promises?

4. What loyalty do Sir John and the king owe to each other, and how do they discharge their debts? Can you draw contemporary parallels where private and public loyaltiesl“7