Vous voulez voir cette page en français ? Cliquez ici.

Alert Me

Want us to e-mail you when this item becomes available?

More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

The Summer of the Danes [Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Ellis Peters , Stephen Thorne
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Sign up to be notified when this item becomes available.


Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Hardcover CDN $19.95  
Paperback CDN $10.91  
Mass Market Paperback --  
Audio, Cassette --  
Audio, Cassette, Audiobook, September 1995 --  

Book Description

September 1995 Brother Cadfael Mysteries
In April 1144 Brother Cadfael leaves his monastery once more, this time in the company of Heledd, a young woman desperate to escape from an arranged marriage, and the youthful Brother Mark, who is representing the bishop on a mission of church diplomacy.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details


Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Twelfth-century monk and sleuth Brother Cadfael, making his 18th appearance, must go deep into Wales on a pilgrimage of Church diplomacy.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

When Brother Cadfael is excused from his duties at Shrewsbury Abbey to accompany Brother Mark on a mission of church diplomacy, he considers it a wonderful stroke of good luck. He gets to venture into his much-loved Wales as a Welsh translator for messages Brother Mark is carrying to two newly appointed bishops. The first message is delivered to the court of Bishop Gilbert, who is playing host to Prince Owain Gwynedd and trying to smooth the relations between Welsh royalty and the Church. During their stay at Gilbert's court, Cadfael and Mark meet a lovely young woman, Heledd, who comes to figure prominently in the story, and Bledri ap Rhys, a messenger from Owain's rebellious brother, Cadwaladr. When Cadfael and Mark continue their journey to visit the second of the new bishops, they find themselves part of a larger traveling party. Listeners expecting one of Brother Cadfael's usual adventures will be disappointed; here he is more observer than actor. Political mayhem, war, murder, and even romance are all results of conflicted loyalties. Patrick Tull's narration is precise and accurate if somewhat dry. It's easy to differentiate among Welsh, English and Irish-Danish characters but not quite as easy to sort out separate characters when they have the same dialect. Still, Tull seems to have done very well with what must have been a challenging assignment. Recommended where works by Peters or other Brother Cadfael titles are popular. - Barbara Rhodes, Northeast Texas Lib. Syst., Garland
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars
3.0 out of 5 stars
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Peters' Cadfael takes on a Danish role! May 4 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
It is not the summer of his discontent, washed by the sun of Yorke; however, it is the season for another Cadfael adventure and mystery! And Ellis Peters, in her usual intriguing way, presents us with her 18th Brother Cadfael episode in "The Summer of the Danes."

The year is 1144--the civil war between King Stephen and Empress Maud still rages on--and Brother Cadfael is called upon to be an interpreter to the Welsh village of Saint Asaph. Cadfael is Welsh born and he welcomes the journey to his homeland as a pleasant break from his duties as a brother at the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Shrewsbury.

As it turns out--and naturally, as this is an Ellis Peters mystery!--a Danish fleet is sighted along the coast of Wales, a real menace, indeed. Then a young girl goes missing. Then a body is found. And Cadfael is off and running.

So is the reader! Having read all the Brother Cadfael series, I found this to be one of my favorites. Peters wastes no time in developing her story and does not hesitate to flavor her plot with plenty of Welsh history and lore. Will the Danes invade? Will the murderer be brought to justice? Cadfael's expertise, once again, proves to be essential in the resolution of the crimes.

Cadfael is the former crusader now turned monk who, while not solving murder cases, works as the Abbey's herbalist and is known throughout the area for his skills in medicine. The "Sunday Express" writes: "Cadfael...springs to life in her books, which are novels with depth. He is a man of warmth, humanity and engaging nosiness."

Do not be misled by the British TV series of the Cadfael stories. While on the surface they are quite adequate (Derek Jacobi is an ideal Cadfael), the 50-minute recounting of any of Peters' books does not do justice to the novel, which is a pity, for there are great gaps of (mis)understanding that simply cannot be supplied in such short time. Stay with the books! They are well-worth the read. Cadfael is a character worth knowing!

Billyjhobbs@tyler.net

Was this review helpful to you?
1.0 out of 5 stars Shallow Story, no mystery and more Jan 31 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The story is rather shallow and not intruiging at all. Although I`m very interested in medieval mystery storys I found this one particularly boring. There is no ambiente in this story, I never felt anything or smelled what it would be like to be in Wales in the 12th century. Much worse are the charakters. They are very poorly made and mere onedimensional. Also, like in an early Western one is to tell good from bad in a second. The good (or noble) people are blonde, tall, muscular, intelligent, blue-eyed and strong willed. The bad ones are dark, small, fat or skinny, dumb and dark-eyed. This, pardon me if it is not so, looks to me (a concerned Austrian)like Nazi- ideology and some kind of Übermensch- fantasy. It reminds me of the ideal Aryan: blonde, blue-eyed, tall and muscular. That is a subliminial message I couldn`t stand. Stay with Paul Harding (P.C.Doherty) or C.L.Grace instead for fun and charakters.
Was this review helpful to you?
3.0 out of 5 stars A good story, but no mystery July 20 1998
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is a good story which Peters populates with memorable characters, but Cadfael is merely a passenger, albeit an insightful one, in this effort.
Was this review helpful to you?
Want to see more reviews on this item?
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category


Feedback