Okay, I posted about this back in 2015, but I’m rereading my Brother Cadfael books again. I started with two I found on my mother’s shelves, Dead Man’s Ransom and The Virgin In The Ice. In the first-mentioned, the victim is the Sheriff of Shropshire, Gilbert Prestcote, and goodness, wasn’t the killer and motivation boring! It’s one of the few books in the series where the clues didn’t add up enough for me to pick the killer. I do mostly forget whodunnit in this series if I haven’t read them in a while. In the second-mentioned, you get someone from Brother Cadfael’s past, whom he didn’t know existed - his son - and he is so thrilled!
In case you have missed this wonderful series - 20 novels and a collection of short pieces - it’s by “Ellis Peters” aka Edith Pargeter, set in 12th century Shrewsbury, on the border of England and Wales, during the war between Empress Maud and King Stephen over the throne. Mostly, life just goes on in this mediaeval Midsomer, but people are affected. In the early book, One Corpse Too Many, the citizens of Shrewsbury have been besieged by Stephen’s forces and after the hangings of those who defied him, Brother Cadfael, preparing them for burial, notices there is one who wasn’t hanged.... This is the book in which he meets Hugh Beringar, a young man who will later become his “cop” buddy. Cadfael, after an adventurous life, including the First Crusade(remember? He has a son from that time) is now peacefully growing and harvesting herbs and making medicine. He’s also very good at forensics, and sharp-eyed, noticing things others don’t. And he doesn’t always follow the rules...
There is always a sweet young couple who marry in the end, or are about to marry. In One Corpse Too Many it was Hugh and his future wife Aline.
I’m currently rereading Monk’s Hood, in which a man is poisoned by the herb, which is great for a muscle rub, but deadly to ingest. The sweet young couple this time are servants, one of whom has good reason to kill the victim.
I particularly liked that this one features Brother Cadfael’s old flame, who thinks he entered the church because of her...
I like the everyday life portrayed here. Ordinary people are shown living their lives in a normal way. There are tradesmen and their families who appear or are mentioned in each book. Even when a member of the nobility appears, this is not Ivanhoe! Hugh Beringar, the cop, has a manor where he goes for harvest. The rest of the time he lives in a house in the town, with his wife and child and a servant who adores the baby. The castle is just his workplace. Even when he becomes Sheriff himself he stays in his ordinary if comfortable house.
I once visited Shrewsbury, years ago, and was able to find my way around the centre of town because of Ellis Peters’ detailed descriptions of the streets. The church connected with this series is still there.
And I don’t care if I do remember whodunnit, because it’s fun to read the clues and see them as I didn’t first go.
I love these books! Have you read them? What do you think?
In case you have missed this wonderful series - 20 novels and a collection of short pieces - it’s by “Ellis Peters” aka Edith Pargeter, set in 12th century Shrewsbury, on the border of England and Wales, during the war between Empress Maud and King Stephen over the throne. Mostly, life just goes on in this mediaeval Midsomer, but people are affected. In the early book, One Corpse Too Many, the citizens of Shrewsbury have been besieged by Stephen’s forces and after the hangings of those who defied him, Brother Cadfael, preparing them for burial, notices there is one who wasn’t hanged.... This is the book in which he meets Hugh Beringar, a young man who will later become his “cop” buddy. Cadfael, after an adventurous life, including the First Crusade(remember? He has a son from that time) is now peacefully growing and harvesting herbs and making medicine. He’s also very good at forensics, and sharp-eyed, noticing things others don’t. And he doesn’t always follow the rules...
There is always a sweet young couple who marry in the end, or are about to marry. In One Corpse Too Many it was Hugh and his future wife Aline.
I’m currently rereading Monk’s Hood, in which a man is poisoned by the herb, which is great for a muscle rub, but deadly to ingest. The sweet young couple this time are servants, one of whom has good reason to kill the victim.
I particularly liked that this one features Brother Cadfael’s old flame, who thinks he entered the church because of her...
I like the everyday life portrayed here. Ordinary people are shown living their lives in a normal way. There are tradesmen and their families who appear or are mentioned in each book. Even when a member of the nobility appears, this is not Ivanhoe! Hugh Beringar, the cop, has a manor where he goes for harvest. The rest of the time he lives in a house in the town, with his wife and child and a servant who adores the baby. The castle is just his workplace. Even when he becomes Sheriff himself he stays in his ordinary if comfortable house.
I once visited Shrewsbury, years ago, and was able to find my way around the centre of town because of Ellis Peters’ detailed descriptions of the streets. The church connected with this series is still there.
And I don’t care if I do remember whodunnit, because it’s fun to read the clues and see them as I didn’t first go.
I love these books! Have you read them? What do you think?
I think that my wife would really like these books. She tends to like historical mysteries. I am also drawn to the 12th Century setting. It seems like such an obscure but interesting time.
ReplyDeleteOh, not at all obscure although not as well known as the later part of the century, when you had the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart, etc. In the end, the Empress sort of won - Stephen got the kingship for life, but her son followed him, and that was Henry II, father of Richard. There would do have been a very different world if Stephen had won completely, or Maud for that matter.
ReplyDeleteI think you and your wife will enjoy it. Despite a murder per novel, they are gentle stories, with characters you can care about,
Hi Sue - they are delightful stories and really resonate with Medieval life ... we can learn lots about that era and the countryside. I certainly haven't read them all - but only found them about 40 years ago ... and really at some stage need to 'find' them again. Cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteI have read a few Cadfael novels but I have this image of Derek Jacobi from the excellent TV series now. One of my TBR series.
ReplyDeleteHi Hilary! You’re back in England now and enjoy travelling around - perhaps you might consider visiting Shrewsbury? A lovely place and might inspire you to a reread.
ReplyDeleteHi Roland! Would it surprise you to hear that the author felt the same way? She said she would always see Brother Cadfael as Derek Jacobi after that, and great that she lived long enough to enjoy it. I haven’t seen all the episodes, which are hard to get on DVD these days, but I have to agree he is a wonderful Cadfael. And interestingly, Sean Pertwee is a fabulous Hugh Beringar, despite being tall and blonde where the book Hugh was short and dark!
I like Ellis Peters and your post makes me want to read them again. Not sure if I still have them, though, as I had to give a heap of books away when we moved to the ACT.
ReplyDeleteHi AJ! Perhaps your local library has some or can get them in?
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check it out - they've just started a refurbishment so it's a bit tricky going there at the moment.
ReplyDeleteYou might have to be patient a while, then. Meanwhile, I bet there is an on line catalogue where you can see if they hav3 th3 Books. Bet they do!
ReplyDelete