A Murderous Procession is the fourth book in Ariana Franklin’s Mistress of the Art of Death series, featuring medieval doctor and medical examiner Adelia Aguilar. When King Henry II sends his ten-year-old daughter, Joanna, to Sicily to be married, the king selects as her travel companion the woman he trusts most: Adelia, his mistress of the art of death.

As a medical doctor and native of Sicily, Adelia will travel with the princess and safeguard her health until the wedding. With her on the procession across Europe are her Arab companion, Mansur, and Rowley Picot, the Bishop of St. Albans, who is also the father of Adelia’s only child. When people in the princess’s household begin to die mysteriously, Adelia suspects that an old enemy from her past may have returned.

1. When it comes time for Adelia to leave her daughter, Allie, with Queen Eleanor, everyone―Rowley, Emma, Mansur—seems to think Allie will benefit from some time at court instead of the rough-and-tumble country life her mother allows. Is Adelia truly “limiting” her daughter by allowing her the same freedoms as boys her age? Will the time spent with Eleanor be a good thing for Allie?


2. During the procession, Lady Petronilla, Lady Beatrix, and Mistress Blanche seem to delight in poking fun at Adelia and her lack of ladylike refinement. Are they merely frivolous, or do they have the advantage in their environment? Is there anything Adelia can learn from them?


3. After Boggart is assaulted by Sir Nicholas, Mistress Blanche bluntly tells Adelia: “One just has to get over it,” but she also makes what seems like a personal confession: “One always [blames oneself]. Tell her not to.” Is her advice helpful, or contradictory? Has this reality changed for women since Blanche and Adelia’s day?


4. Do you agree with Rowley and Mansur’s cover-up of Mistress Brune’s true cause of death? Does that fact that “she was not a nice woman” affect your point of view? Does it affect Mansur’s? Or Adelia’s?


5. When Rowley advises Adelia to steer clear of the Cathars, is he being intolerant of their religion, or just politically cautious? How do you regard the Cathars in light of what Adelia witnesses, and after hearing Fabrisse’s story of her child’s illness?


6. Fabrisse instantly recognizes that O’Donnell is in love with Adelia, and says of romantic love, “It happens. Not to me, Blessed Mother be thanked, but it happens.” Why does Fabrisse think it’s better for a woman never to fall in love? Would Adelia agree or disagree with her? What about Rowley, and O’Donnell?


7. When Adelia and Fabrisse say good-bye, “they [cling] to each other, rendered almost inarticulate by a parting that would inevitably be permanent.” Those kinds of partings were common in the Middle Ages, when long-distance travel was difficult, if not impossible. Adelia, for example, hasn’t seen her parents for many years when they’re reunited in Palermo, and Princess Joanna may never see her parents again. How do you think people coped with the separation? What effect did it have on families and friendships?


8. How does meeting other medieval rulers—Young Henry, William of Sicily—make you appreciate Henry Plantagenet? Why do you think Adelia and Mansur think of him as “our king,” even when they’ve finally returned to Sicily?


9. What do you think will happen to Rowley? Will Adelia’s parents travel to England with her? What will it mean for Adelia and Allie if Rowley dies? What would you like to see happen?