In the autumn of 1140 the Benedictine monastery at Shrewsbury finds its new novice Meriet Aspley a disturbing presence. Meek and biddable by day, his sleep is rent with nightmares so violent as to earn him the nickname of "Devil's Novice".
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'Derek Jacobi is one of the most fluent and mellifluous deliverers of taped literature.' -- Radio Times
About the Author
Ellis Peters is a pseudonym of Edith Pargeter, author of historical novels such as The Heaven Tree Trilogy. Under the name of Ellis Peters she wrote crime fiction including The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael and a more "modern" detective, Detective Chief Inspector George False. Ellis Peters won many distinguished writing awards including an Edgar Award, the Silver Dagger Award and the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award of the Crime Writers Association. She lived in Shropshire, England.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By Norm
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Brother Cadfael befriends a troubled novitiate and gets involved in a very confusing murder. Along the way he is more amused than he should be with Brother Jerome's ill treatment at the hands of the Devil's Novice. This book was as enjoyable as they come. Great characters and a very good mystery.
By "rhbouchard"
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Peters spins a good tale, combined with her usual cast of interesting characters and a memorable setting, makes the one of the better Cadfael Chronicles.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars
11 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dreams of murder
Feb 11 2006
By Beverley Strong
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
When Meriet, a quiet, secretive young man is brought to the Abbey of St.Peter and St.Paul by his father, to be accepted as a novice monk, Brother Cadfael is immediately wary of his true vocation as he is almost too keen to take vows and to renounce the outside world at an age where he has had no experience of life, except as a youth in a privileged world of the minor nobility. He disturbs all the residents of the Abbey with his screaming nightmares so is taken to serve under the guidance of Brother Mark, at the Leprosarium of St. Giles. While helping the patients gather firewood in the nearby forest, he discovers the burned body of a murdered cleric who had recently been an overnight guest at his father's manor, and who had been declared missing for a short time. Meriet's father has never had any time for him as his elder brother Nigel was the apple of his parent's eyes and could do no wrong. The mystery evolves with Cadfael, as usual, methodically sifting through red herrings and true clues, with the help of his friend, Deputy Sherriff, Hugh Beringar. It's another fine Cadfael story, linked very closely with the political history and unrest of the day.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Two for one special -- history and mystery
Feb 12 2006
By Joseph Kaiser Canner
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is my second foray into the Brother Cadfael Mystery series and this book did nothing to dampen my initial enthusiasm for the series. Most of the comments from my previous review (see The Leper of Saint Giles) apply here as well. In particular, I enjoyed the mix of romance and mystery. Once again, this book delves into themes of unrequited love and also explores the mystery of feminine allure (even among the celibate).
Brother Cadfael is a uniquely endearing character, with his mix of gentleness, worldly wisdom, and competence. This book also provided my first introduction to Hugh Beringar, sheriff Shrewsbury. He and Cadfael join together their several talents to make an unbeatable team.
My only complaint is that this book takes a little while to get into, as it plows through the political and religious background necessary to understanding the plot. All in all, though, it is worth, as the reader will end up both entertained by the story and educated by the history.
Brother Cadfael is a uniquely endearing character, with his mix of gentleness, worldly wisdom, and competence. This book also provided my first introduction to Hugh Beringar, sheriff Shrewsbury. He and Cadfael join together their several talents to make an unbeatable team.
My only complaint is that this book takes a little while to get into, as it plows through the political and religious background necessary to understanding the plot. All in all, though, it is worth, as the reader will end up both entertained by the story and educated by the history.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
More of a whydunnit than a whodunnit
July 10 2002
By Steve Benner
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The big mystery throughout this eighth of Ellis Peters' Chronicles of Brother Cadfael is not really who, in the depths of the Salop countryside one day in the late summer of the year of Our Lord 1140, committed murder most foul upon the person of Peter Clemence, cleric to Bishop Henry of Bois - but why! And also just what the connection might be between the unfortunate demise of a harmless cleric - seemingly not even relieved of his valuables - and the latest candidate to be accepted into the noviciate of Shrewsbury's abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, the nineteen-year-old, Meriet Aspley. For it is obvious, from the very opening of this book, to both reader and Brother Cadfael alike, that there is some dark secret haunting the latest entrant to the abbey. There is also little doubt that the sad fate of Peter Clemence has some bearing upon it. Equally obvious is that the mediaeval sleuth will need to have not only his wits but also all of his tact about him too, if he is to winkle out the truth behind matters here, both of the circumstances of the cleric's death and of young Meriet Aspley's sudden-found yearning for life within the cloister.
In her usual manner, Ellis Peters drip-feeds her hero and her readers alike with tantalising but measured trickles of information, permitting both to proceed but piecemeal (and at about the same pace as each other) towards the final revelation and the story's sudden resolution. Along the way, we are treated to the author's characteristically over-glamorised view of Mediaeval English life, with her entirely comforting (and rather touching) view of the honest goodness of the (Saxon) poor, as well as the essentially corrupt nature of those who would aspire to power (usually those overbearing Normans, of course).
In common with others of this series, this book presents a mix of romance and murder mystery, all set against a back-drop of political intrigue. In essence, then, we have here another classic from the Cadfael mould - an engaging read that taxes neither imagination nor credulity over much and which provides some fascinating glimpses of how things might have been in twelfth century Salop. It can be recommended to both established Cadfael fans and newcomers alike.
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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