An Excellent Mystery (1985) Ellis Peters (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #11) Set in Shrewsbury in 1141 As a brother of the Order I would wish to keep my hands from violence against any, but for all that, I hope I would not turn my back if I saw innocence or helplessness being abused. He looked […]
The Pilgrim of Hate (1984) Ellis Peters (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #10) Set in Shrewsbury in 1141. “Then your only resort is confession and penance,” said Hugh lightly. “Not until Brother Mark is full-fledged a priest!” Young Mark was gone from his mother-house and from his flock at Saint Giles, gone to the household of […]
Dead Man’s Ransom (1984) Ellis Peters (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #9) Set in Shropshire, England and Wales in 1141 “If none of us ever fell short, or put a foot astray,” said Cadfael sadly, “everything would be good in this great world, but we stumble and fall, every one. We must deal with what we […]
Saint Peter’s Fair (1981) Ellis Peters (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael) Set in Shropshire England in 1139 St. Peter’s Fair is a grand, festive event, attracting merchants from across England and beyond. There is a pause in the civil war racking the country in the summer of 1139, and the fair promises to bring some much-needed […]
One Corpse Too Many (1979) Ellis Peters (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #2) Set in England in 1138. This is set with the civil war between King Stephen and Empress Maud in the forefront of the story. In this early summer of 1138 the fratricidal strife, hitherto somewhat desultory, was already two years old, but never […]
A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977) Ellis Peters (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael) Set in England in 1137. The herbarium in particular was his kingdom, for he had built it up gradually through the fifteen years of labour, and added to it many exotic plants of his own careful raising, collected in a roving youth that […]
The Holy Thief (1992) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1144. The 19th Brother Cadfael book. Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, is dead. The war rages on, but the Abbot of Ramsey was able to return and assess to damage to his abbey. He then sent out members to call for the return of […]
The Summer of the Danes (1991) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1144. Cadfael and Brother Mark travel to Wales, to meet with (and support) two new bishops. But they end up caught up in an unexpected fight: Prince Owain Gwynedd and his brother Cadwaladr. “Brothers have been the ruin of Welsh princedoms through all […]
The Potter’s Field (1989) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1143. The local potter named Ruald, abandoned his wife to take monastic vows. When a body is discovers in the field where the both once lived, it is assumed to be Generys. (H)e could have his freedom to go and become a monk, but his […]
The Heretic’s Apprentice (1989) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1143. Elave has returned from the Holy Land with his Master’s body–the man died while on pilgrimage, not during the Crusades–and bearing a gift for his adopted daughter. Although the gift causes problems, the first problems stem from Elave thinking on his own about God […]
The Confession of Brother Haluin (1988) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1143 Stephen and Maud are still battling over the English throne. It seemed that as often as either of them got within touch of the crown, fortune took fright at the prospect of being in the service of either, and hurriedly snatched the […]
The Hermit of Eyton Forest (1987) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1142 The 14th Brother Cadfael mystery. “There’s no end to the follies any man can commit.” (A) big, burly, thrusting man, his face abruptly lit as he swung past the torch fixed at the gate, and then as abruptly darkened. A massive face, […]
The Rose Rent (1986) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1142. The thirteenth Brother Cadfael mystery. The young widow Perle gave her house to the abbey after the death of her husband and unborn child with the caveat that every year on St Winnifred’s day she receive a single rose from the bush in the […]
The Raven in the Foregate (1986) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1141 The 12th Brother Cadfael mystery finds the war between Maud and Stephen again shifted, this time in favor of Stephen, and the political machinations have reached to Shrewsbury when a new priest is sent for the town. “From here where I stand […]
An Excellent Mystery (1985) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1141 The war between Stephen and Maud continues, leading to the burning of much of Winchester. This causes two monks to appear at the abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, seeking refuge and shelter at their brother abbey. But one of the brothers had […]