Earlier, I had searched for references to Ellis Peters and Brother Cadfael on the net, and not found very many. So this might be (close to) the first page. Surprisingly, her publisher does not have a web page related to Brother Cadfael & Ellis Peters. Even more surprising, this page is at the first result of a Yahoo search on Ellis Peters & Brother Cadfael. In some ways, I'm very proud of this, but also, I'm unhappy at the lack of attention that this author is getting, which she richly deserves. Another search has found a trove of information and some other links--The Cadfael Chronicles , another fan's page, and a page translated into English from French. There is also a list on Ellis Peters.
Cadfael is the lead character in a series of books by Ellis Peters. He is a Welshman, now in his 60s, and a Brother in the monastery of Saints Peter and Paul, in Shrewsbury, England. The time is the 1100s, while Stephen and Maud are contending for the throne of England. Cadfael is now a brother, but he has been in the world- he spent 15 (or so) years in the Mideast, first as a Crusader, then as captain of a fishing boat. While there, he began to learn about gardening and herbs, he loved several women and even fathered a son, although he did not know it at the time. Finally, the quiet, the peace of the monastery called to him, and he came home to England and took vows. When the series begins, he has been a brother for about 15 years. His adventures are all centered in life in the Monastery, which is the center of his life, but they also show that he has not turned away completely from the world. There are now 20 novels and a book of short stories written about Cadfael.
Ellis Peters died in the autumn/winter of 1995, so there won't be any more Cadfael stories. Many mystery readers everywhere mourned her passing.
In order of publication, the Cadfael novels are:
| A Morbid Taste for Bones One Corpse Too Many Monk's Hood St. Peter's Fair The Leper of St. Giles The Virgin in the Ice The Sanctuary Sparrow The Devil's Novice Dead Man's Ransom The Pilgrim of Hate An Excellent Mystery The Raven in the Foregate The Rose Rent The Hermit of Eyton Forest The Confession of Brother Haluin The Heretic's Apprentice A Rare Benedectine The Potter's Field The Summer of the Danes The Holy Thief Brother Cadfael's Penance |