Ellis Peters

[Margaret]

Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael novels are beloved for good reason. Brother Cadfael is a monk with a past. On retiring to a monastery, he took up the post of infirmarian. With his vast knowledge of herbcraft, he tends not only to the monks' ills, but to those of the townfolk. His worldly past and his hard-won wisdom about people and their motivations often puts him at odds with his brethren who believe monks should be more rigid in their adherence to the monastic rule. It also makes him particularly able to sort out the tangle of lies and conflicts surrounding a case of murder.

Who else has read these mysteries, and which is your favorite?

[Rowan]

I've read about half of them I think. Will have to go back and start over probably. You forgot to mention that his 'past' involves being a soldier. ;)

[Melisende]

I love them all!

Also didn't mind Sean Pertwee as Sir Derek's (aka Bro. Cadfael) sidekick. Nice bit of eye-candy there (okay it was awhile ago!).

[TerriPray]

Oh, I used to own them all (or all of them that were out at the time) when I still lived in the UK. Loved that series.

I'm going to have to re-collect them again as I started reading those when I was about 12 or 13, so it won't be long before my daughter will be old enough for them.

[Carla]

I've read about half of them, and like them very much, chiefly because Cadfael is such an attractive character. I think my favourite of the ones I've read is One Corpse Too Many (partly because of Hugh Berenger).

[EC2]

I've read about half of them, and like them very much, chiefly because Cadfael is such an attractive character. I think my favourite of the ones I've read is One Corpse Too Many (partly because of Hugh Berenger).

I've got them all and read them all. Carla (owe you an e-mail but will be next week at least!) One Corpse Too Many is my favourite too - due to Hugh Berenger. I confess to reading the mysteries not for Cadfael and the whodunnit, but for my Hugh fix. :o. I also very much enjoyed The Virgin in the Ice and St Peter's Fair. The earlier ones IMO are better than the later ones.
I like Sean Pertwee but he was not ideally cast as Hugh Berenger in the TV series. He's nothing like the personality in the book and that was disappointing for me. Then again Derek Jacobi ain't nothing like the Cadfael in the book!

[Margaret]

I think Edith Pargeter (Ellis Peters was a pen name) once lamented that she didn't do villains well. She had a lot of sympathy for all her characters, so had a hard time creating characters who were just plain mean. I wonder if this might not actually be one of the reasons why so many readers loved her Brother Cadfael mysteries. In the thread about villains, I was talking about how I don't usually care for novels with villains who are evil through-and-through, because I just don't find them interesting or particularly credible.

[Kasthu]

It's been a while since I last read an Ellis Peters, but I remember her books being quite good. In fact, I think one of them was in a list of the best mysteries of the 20th century or something. I'd have to dig them out and re-read them.

[Misfit]

I've never read any books under the Peters name but I loved The Heaven Tree trilogy under Edith Pargeter. Not the fastest paced book, but the writing is gorgeous. Funny there's this book about a master stone mason building a great cathedral written twenty some years before..... well you know what book.

[Ash]

I actually discovered Caedfael first on the PBS series, and yes, Berenger was a favorite. Loved Derek Jacobi in the lead. Ended up reading all of them (with Jacobi's voice in my head); I can't think of one that is outstanding as a favorite; perhaps the one with the woman who kills herself after a priest blasts her for daring to confess her pregnancy to him? They were all good btw.

I remember several years ago visiting a replica of Caedfaels monastery and gardens; it should be in Shrewsbury, but now I am not remembering and can't find it. Any clues?

[Margaret]

Oh, yes, The Heaven Tree is wonderful. I think it's the very best of anything she wrote, and she wrote a lot of good books! I need to re-read it and put a review up at HistoricalNovels.info. I read an interview somewhere in which Pargeter said (in reference to the Cadfael mysteries) that she wasn't very good at villains. But her villain in The Heaven Tree may be among the best in fiction. He seems so real. His villainy is towering and monstrous, and yet you understand every step of the way why he feels and acts as he does. In fact, he doesn't seem like a villain at all through a large portion of the novel - though he's mesmerizingly interesting.

[Misfit]

Oh, yes, The Heaven Tree is wonderful. I think it's the very best of anything she wrote, and she wrote a lot of good books! I need to re-read it and put a review up at HistoricalNovels.info. I read an interview somewhere in which Pargeter said (in reference to the Cadfael mysteries) that she wasn't very good at villains. But her villain in The Heaven Tree may be among the best in fiction. He seems so real. His villainy is towering and monstrous, and yet you understand every step of the way why he feels and acts as he does. In fact, he doesn't seem like a villain at all through a large portion of the novel - though he's mesmerizingly interesting.

The love/hate relationship between Harry (and then his son) and Isambard was quite something - and I just loved the way Pargeter tied them all together at the end for a big finish. Wow.

[SarahWoodbury]

I have read all the Ellis Peters books as well as the Heaven Tree Trilogy and the Brothers of Gwynedd Quartet she wrote as Edith Pargeter. Maybe because I have 4 kids, I love the Cadfael book where he discovers he has a son. Brother Cadfael's Penance, the last book before Ellis Peters died, is so well written and so wonderful. I was glad she was able to 'finish' the series before she died.

The Brothers of Gwynedd Quartet is an interesting counterpoint to Sharon Kay Penman's Welsh Trilogy. The books only tell of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the last Prince of Wales, and they end, as the story must, tragically.

[EC2]

I particularly liked A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury when she was writing as Edith Pargeter. The Brothers of Gwynedd quartet has some lovely writing, but at time it can be rather like watching paint dry.
I loved the Cadfael books but confess I used to read them for Hugh Berenger rather than Cadfael and I think I preferred the earlier ones. One Corpse Too many remains my absolute favourite of them, followed by St Peter's Fair and The Virgin in the Ice.

[Anna Elliott]

I love the relationship and dynamic between Cadfael and Hugh, too!

My two very favorite quotes from the series:

Cadfael to Hugh: "I hope I never do anything without due thought - even if the thought sometimes has to shift its feet pretty briskly to keep up with the deed"

Hugh: "Old friend, I doubt even you could bring Susanna into the fold among the lambs. Now she chose her way, and it's taken her far out of the reach of man's mercy. Oh, and I suppose you'll tell me that God's reach is longer than man's."
Cadfael: "It had better be, otherwise were all lost."

[SusannaG]

I think I've read about a third to a half of them, and One Corpse Too Many is also my favorite.

They are good comfort reads, I find.

[LambChop]

Oh, yes, The Heaven Tree is wonderful. I think it's the very best of anything she wrote, and she wrote a lot of good books! I need to re-read it and put a review up at HistoricalNovels.info. I read an interview somewhere in which Pargeter said (in reference to the Cadfael mysteries) that she wasn't very good at villains. But her villain in The Heaven Tree may be among the best in fiction. He seems so real. His villainy is towering and monstrous, and yet you understand every step of the way why he feels and acts as he does. In fact, he doesn't seem like a villain at all through a large portion of the novel - though he's mesmerizingly interesting.

I'm currently reading the Heaven Tree and thoroughly enjoying it. Looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.

[Madeleine]

I have all the Cadfaels dotted about on various tbr piles, but I've never seen any of her other books in the shops.

[Margaret]

Heaven Tree has been reprinted in various editions, some with all three novels of the trilogy in one volume. It may be out of print at present, but shouldn't be too hard to find used.

[LambChop]

I bought all 3 books from various sellers on Ebay and paid somewhere in the region of £12 - bargain :) All 3 books were in very good condition too.

[LambChop]

The love/hate relationship between Harry (and then his son) and Isambard was quite something - and I just loved the way Pargeter tied them all together at the end for a big finish. Wow.

I couldn't agree more, Misfit. What an ending to a fantastic trilogy. I thoroughly enjoyed all 3 books and they have now taken up residence on my keeper shelf.

I actually ended up feeling sorry for Isambard - something I didn't think possible at the beginning of the trilogy. It's funny how you can sometimes change your opinion of a character part way through a book. There you are happily reading away and thinking you know what a particular character is about, and then something happens to blow that theory out of the water and make you think again.

[Misfit]

Glad you enjoyed it. I was sympathetic towards Isambard at the end as well. These books definitely blow that other book about a master mason building a great cathedral out of the water.

[LambChop]

Absolutely! They're in a different league altogether.

[Leena]

I feel very comfortable with Brother Cadfael. I think that's because he's seen so much of the world and the evil people do to each other that he can quickly cut through nonsense, when he sees it, and he's mature enough to figure out what to do about it. He's decent but he's realistic. It gives me a secure feeling, I suppose.

I also enjoyed the Mystery Series with Derek Jacobi, esp. the one when he recognizes his son.

It's been too long since I read these. I need to get back to them.