Ellis Peters, creator of the Brother Cadfael mysteries, born in 1913

Ellis Peters (aka Edith Mary Pargeter) was born in Horsehay, Shropshire, September 28, 1913.  She is probably best known for her creation Brother Cadfael, a monk living in 12th century England.  The backdrop of her stories is the civil war that raged between King Stephen and his cousin Empress Maud for the crown of England.  Cadfael had been a soldier before becoming a monk at St. Peter's and St. Paul's in Shrewsbury. 

He works as an herbalist for the monastery so he is called upon to leave its confines to visit the village if someone becomes ill or wounded.  This gives him the chance to interact with the secular world and its share of murder and death.

Her first Brother Cadfael novel is "A Morbid Taste for Bones" was published in 1977 and is tied at #42 of the Top 100 Crime Novels of all Time, with "The Leper of St. Giles", also by Ellis Peters.

Review of The Raven in the Foregate by Ellis Peters

Saying something negative about Ellis Peters is tantamount to criticizing Agatha Christie. Peters’ Brother Cadfael series, set in twelfth century England, has been made into a television series featuring Derek Jacobi as the monk/sleuth, is evidence of just how popular her work is.


Still, the twelfth novel The Raven in the Foregate doesn’t quite measure up to the standards set by the previous eleven books.

Set at Christmas in 1141, Abbot Radulfus returns from a meeting with the bishop with a young priest Ailnoth, assigned to the parish of the Holy Cross. Ailnoth quickly makes himself unpopular by his strict, overzealous and selfish ways. It isn’t long before half the village has reason to hate him. Therefore, it comes as no surprise to the reader when his body is discovered in the mill pond with a wound to the back of his head.

Could it have been the baker whom Ailnoth accused of cheating his customers? Or could it have been the father of the baby who died shortly after birth unshriven because the priest refused to interrupt his own prayers? Or maybe it was the sympathizers to Empress Maud who has been beaten back by her cousin King Stephen in her efforts to overtake the throne?

It is only Brother Cadfael who can sort through the murky clues to discover what really happened to the priest, but he seems to spend as much time investigating the death of Ailnoth as he does sheltering the young man whose aunt accompanied the priest to Shrewsbury. Since Cadfael has no allegiance to either King Stephen or Empress Maud, he knows that the current public opinion is in favor of the king and the young man is ready to take up arms for Maud.

The conclusion of the mystery is almost a disappointment, as it seems that Cafael, usually extremely observant, should miss an important clue that reveals the truth until the last moment. As in previous novels, he’s pieced together fragments of clues and used his keen intelligence to figure it out.

Another aspect is a ruse by Hugh Beringar to ferret out the murderer. It’s out of character for the shrewd sheriff and it falls flat. One wonders why Peters included this in the story.

The Raven in the Foregate just didn’t have the magic of most Peters’ novels.

Review of An Excellent Mystery by Ellis Peters

Ellis Peters usually writes great stories, with intrigue, excitement and plenty of surprises. Unfortunately, An Excellent Mystery, the eleventh chronicle of Brother Cadfael, has little of those. In fact, Cadfael is almost relegated to a secondary role while the minor characters play more important parts in this cozy mystery.

The civil war between Empress Maud and King Stephen has reached a stale mate as the king languishes as a prisoner of the empress. The queen, however, has forced Maud into retreat, holed up in Winchester. The queen’s forces are putting a stranglehold on the city to starve the empress out.

During the retreat, Maud’s forces torched religious communities, scattering the members across the country. Two such refugees arrive at the abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul, an older mortally wounded brother and his young, comely, mute companion.

The elder Brother Humilis has accepted the fact that his days are numbered. Enter a squire, Nicholas, who served under Humilis before he took the cowl. Nicholas asks permission to request the hand of a woman Humilis was once betrothed to three years ago. Therein lies the mystery. Where is Julian Cruce? She hasn’t been seen or heard from since Humilis entered the faith.

The book follows Nichaolas has he trvales the English countryside retracing Julian’s steps on a trail three years cold.

When Cadfael unravels the mystery of the missing woman, the solution is rather anti-climatic. An Excellent Mystery certainly won’t discourage me from continuing the series, but it’s one that other readers can skip.

The PIlgrim of Hate by Ellis Peters

It’s easy to see why Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael series is so popular, since it was made into a television series with Derek Jacobi. She brought so much of the twelfth century customs, culture and political environment into stark and vivid details, the setting comes alive on the pages. The Pilgrim of Hate is the tenth chronicle of Brother Cadfael and written as if Peters was present, writing the events down as they occurred.

In the year of our Lord 1141, England is still ripped apart by civil war between King Stephen and Empress Maud, cousins each with designs on the throne. While Stephen is held prisoner, Maud waits in London to be crowned queen. A noble knight, Rainald Bossard, in the service of the empress is cruelly murdered one night during a brief and otherwise minor scuffle. Abbot Radulfus brings news of this when he returns form a council to the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul. The festival of Saint Winifred is just days away and pilgrims from the far reaches of the island will come to Shrewsbury to pray for a miracle.

Among those making the long journey is a weaver with her teenaged niece and nephew. The boy has a crippled leg and his sister has caught the eye of another young man, making his way to Shrewsbury festival. He is traveling with a self-proclaimed penitent, who claims he must suffer his journey barefoot and carrying a heavy cross around his neck.

Ne’er-do-wells are also amongst the many sojourners and Sheriff Hugh Beringar must stay one step ahead of the riffraff.

Cadfael is busy with his herbarium but his mind is distracted by the good Saint Winifred since only he and Hugh know the real location of her remains, which is not in the shrine built for her. Will the blessed saint still grant them a miracle or will she show them her wrath?

Despite the deceit, Winifred continues to bless Cadfael and the Abbey with many miracles. For Brother Cadfael, it is the return of Olivier Bretagne, his son by a woman in the Holy Land, sired during the Crusades. The good brother has told no one about his progeny, preferring to keep that part of his life before the cowl a guarded secret.

Peters reflects more than a passing reference to two earlier works: A Morbid Taste for Bones, which tells the story of Cadfael’s mystery and adventure with the remains of St. Winifred; and Virgin in the Ice when he first meets the son he hasn’t seen in many years. Fortunately, the reader doesn’t need to read those excellent novels prior to The Pilgrim of Hate, since her reflections are detailed enough that anyone unfamiliar with them can easily understand.

Peters writes with such feeling that you rejoice with Cadfael when he is reunited with Olivier. The reader feels Cadfael’s anxiety and urgency when he rushes to prevent a second murder from occurring. She knows how to connect her readers to her characters as well as any writer.

The Pilgrim of Hate is cozier than some of her previous works but still contains a great mystery with an interesting twist. But it also has a romantic side as well as Saint Winifred grants one pilgrim a wish and the Abbey witnesses a wedding. A happy ending to a baffling mystery.