The Merchant's Daughter

In Melanie Dickerson’s novel The Merchant’s Daughter, the reader is plunged into 14th century England. A time when superstitions ran rampant, and someone accused of a crime was found guilty based on one person’s word that the individual in question committed the egregious offense.

The merchant’s daughter is Annabel Chapman. A young lady whose father, a merchant by trade, dies three years previously leaving the family to incur his debt. Annabel, her mother, and her two brothers, Durand and Edward, owe the lord of Glynval three years of labor in the harvest fields. They have neglected their duties as villeins and their mother is summoned before a tribunal to receive the family’s punishment. They must pay an exorbitant fee, even for this age, to compensate for their neglect. Being as they have no money, the mother is ordered to send one of her children to be an indentured servant to the lord of Glynval, Ranulf le Wyse, a brute of a man whose formidable appearance stirs fear in the townsfolk.

The basis of the story is engaging but the telling of the tale comes out a bit contrived at times such as the character of Beatrice whom Annabel befriends when she goes to work at le Wyse’s manor. Midway through the story, Beatrice turns into a troublemaker who acts maliciously towards Annabel. Other occurrences in the story that appear contrived is when Annabel is being chased around town by the bailiff, Tom att Water, who conveniently has a daughter Maud working at le Wyse’s manor. The cunning actions of father and daughter are reminiscent of Arthur Miller‘s play “The Crucible” when Abigail William’s feigning dramatics cause the death of innocent people. Similarly, att Water and his daughter’s lies rile up the townsfolk against le Wyse. It is Annabel who saves his life by confronting the mob and recounting to the crowd how everyone has benefited from le Wyse’s actions. It’s one of the only moments that Annabel shows some real mettle.

Dickerson works in excerpts from the Bible which assist in building the relationship between Annabel and le Wyse as she reads the scriptures to him before going to bed. Though it’s understandable why she would want to join a convent after being influenced by the readings and to avoid marriage either to Tom att Water or Gilbert Carpenter, who is le Wyse’s master mason and shows an interest in Annabel, it comes off as contrived that le Wyse happens to have an aunt who is an abbess.

A few other scenes build the story such as a giant fire that sets le Wyse’s barn ablaze and an inquest to discover who attacked le Wyse when he is found unconscious, but for the most part, Ranulf le Wyse is the biggest attraction the story has to its credit. Dickerson may have modeled le Wyse after the beast in Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve’s tale, Beauty and the Beauty, but he is the most likeable character and certainly the most consistent and human out of the lot. Readers will be enamored of his character and will find themselves rooting for him all the way through the tale.