Tag: Ellis Peters

Monk’s Hood by Ellis Peters

January 20, 2021

Originally published in 1980
Brother Cadfael #3
Preceded by One Corpse Too Many
Followed by Saint Peter’s Fair

Gervase Bonel is a guest of Shrewsbury Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul when he suddenly takes ill. Luckily, the abbey boasts the services of the clever and kindly Brother Cadfael, a skilled herbalist. Cadfael hurries to the man’s bedside, only to be confronted with two surprises: In Master Bonel’s wife, the good monk recognizes Richildis, whom he loved before he took his vows—and Master Bonel has been fatally poisoned by monk’s-hood oil from Cadfael’s stores.

The sheriff is convinced that the murderer is Richildis’s son, Edwin, who hated his stepfather. But Cadfael, guided in part by his concern for a woman to whom he was once betrothed, is certain of her son’s innocence. Using his knowledge of both herbs and the human heart, Cadfael deciphers a deadly recipe for murder. 

One of the most exciting things to happen to me last week was the release of a boxed set of radio adaptations of Brother Cadfael stories. I have been waiting for this for years, ever since I first heard the previous CD release of Monk’s Hood under the Radio Crimes label and fell in love with Philip Madoc’s rich, booming interpretation of the part. Now this post is not a review of that excellent radio adaptation which incidentally is one of the three stories featured in that set, but I feel I ought to mention my history with that story as background to this review. While I read the book for the first time this week, I am very familiar with the story from its adaptations and so I came to this knowing the solution.

Master Bonel plans to enter into an agreement with the Shrewsbury Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in which he would gift his estates to the monastery in exchange for lifetime food, stabling and lodgings in one of the abbey’s buildings. The transaction should have been quickly wrapped up but Abbot Heribert’s authority has been suspended until he appears before a Legatine council in London to explain his decision to back the Empress Maud in the recent hostilities. While the paperwork awaits completion it is decided that Bonel and his family should be allowed to complete their move into their new home.

When the Abbey receives a gift of a partridge Prior Robert, who hopes to replace Heribert, decides to send a portion of the bird to Bonel to welcome him and in the hope of currying his good favor. Bonel falls ill shortly after eating it and Cadfael is summoned but he is unable to save him. He does however detect the distinctive odor of a liniment he prepared on both Bonel and the remnants of the stew and deduces it was used to poison him. Suspicion quickly falls on Bonel’s stepson who argued with him and would have been disinherited by the agreement with the Abbey but Cadfael believes in the young man’s innocence and searches for a different killer.

Like many of the Cadfael stories I think that the plot itself is relatively straightforward. We can trust that Edwin, that stepson, is not the murderer based on Cadfael’s generally sound judgment of people and because if the only suspect was the killer it really wouldn’t be much of a case. Once you look past Edwin I think it is relatively easy to spot the figure who seems most suspicious but the problem is understanding exactly why they commited the crime.

There are some clues but as with the other volumes I reviewed here, there are not many and the deductions made from them are usually quite simple. In several cases Cadfael acts based on his instincts rather than firm information meaning that some possible ideas are never really tested. This is understandable based on the character and the time he is living in but it means that the story won’t reward those who may approach this in search of a puzzle.

That is not to say however that there isn’t a clever idea at the heart of this story. I appreciate that this is a story in which the setting feels genuinely important to the story. Crucial information is given to the reader in advance of the solution, though its significance is not spelled out, and I enjoyed that this is another story that incorporates some elements of travel at one point.

For those who enjoy the exploration of the sleuth’s background, this story is a treat as it incorporates aspects of Cadfael’s past and uses them to inform the reader about his history and character. The device of bringing Cadfael face to face with a former lover unexpectedly is a clever one and Peters uses it well. Previous volumes had begun to explore this aspect of his character and certainly hinted at his understanding of romance but what we get here not only helps us understand much more of who he was prior to entering the Abbey, it also illustrates the ways he has changed since doing so (as well as some of the ways in which he hasn’t).

I think the other thing this book does in relation to Cadfael’s character is better define his values in contrast to the other members of his order. We had seen some of this in the first novel, A Morbid Taste for Bones, when the monks were disagreeing about what to do about St. Winifred but that felt quite tightly focused on Cadfael’s Welsh background. This novel also has moments that explore his Welsh identity but it also discusses his values more broadly and how his views on what is godly or appropriate sometimes differ from those of his fellow monks. He is, we are reminded, someone who has lived in the real world and experienced things that the others have only thought about in a more hypothetical sense. These are not new ideas but I think they are refined and become more potent here.

I also enjoy the politicking we see take place within the order about the possibility of Abbot Heribert being replaced and the tensions that flare up between the brothers. Peters gives this a comical tone, showing both Prior Robert’s obsequious behavior when speaking with Abbot Heribert and his enormous ambition which becomes clear when he is left in charge. Rest assured that subplot has a nice resolution at the end that left me quite satisfied.

While I enjoy the mystery and the solution, I think enjoyment of this and other books in the series depends to what extent you are interested in the historical elements or in exploring the lives of these characters. Those elements of setting and character are given as much prominence as the murder plotline meaning that some will find the pace slow or possibly resent that they come at the expense of the complexity of the case itself.

For me however this proved a pleasant blend and one I enjoyed rediscovering. Peters is comfort reading for me and so returning to this story felt particularly pleasing to me in these stressful times.

The Verdict: A simple but effective story. The mystery is not complex but it sits nicely alongside the exploration of Cadfael’s character.

Do you have any mystery series you love to return to?

This counts towards the Vintage Scattegories challenge’s Murderous Methods category as a Silver Age read.

One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters

July 1, 2019

Originally Published 1979
Brother Cadfael #2
Preceded by A Morbid Taste for Bones
Followed by Monk’s Hood

In the summer of 1138, war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud takes Brother Cadfael from the quiet world of his garden into a battlefield of passions, deceptions, and death. Not far from the safety of the abbey walls, Shrewsbury Castle falls, leaving its ninety-four defenders loyal to the empress to hang as traitors. With a heavy heart, Brother Cadfael agrees to bury the dead, only to make a grisly discovery: one extra victim that has been strangled, not hanged.
 
This ingenious way to dispose of a corpse tells Brother Cadfael that the killer is both clever and ruthless. But one death among so many seems unimportant to all but the good Benedictine. He vows to find the truth behind disparate clues: a girl in boy’s clothing, a missing treasure, and a single broken flower . . . the tiny bit of evidence that Cadfael believes can expose a murderer’s black heart. 

It has been over a year since I shared my thoughts on the first of the Brother Cadfael series, A Morbid Taste for Bones. For those who are completely new to the series it is worth giving a little background about the setting and character. Brother Cadfael is a Benedictine monk who lives at the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul in Shrewsbury where he tends herbs in the abbey gardens. He had been a soldier and a sailor in the Crusades, giving him considerable experience of human nature which he is able to use in solving crimes.

While the series employs some elements of the detective story, the novels usually incorporate considerable adventure and romance subplots. This story is a good case in point as while Cadfael does work to identify and explain a murder, large parts of the tale are not ‘fair play’ or are quite simplistic (for instance, the deduction that if they have a missing part of an object that was dislodged during a murder then the killer may have the remainder of it).

There was a time when this series would occupy as much space on bookstore shelves as the Agatha Christie novels but in recent years the character and series seem to have diminished in popularity. They remain hugely influential however and while the stories may not be to everyone’s tastes, I do think they paved the way for subsequent historical mysteries by proving that there could be a market for them.

One Corpse Too Many is set during the early years of the civil war that took place when King Stephen and Empress Maud vied for the English throne, a fascinating period of history. The reader is given the background information needed to understand the conflict in the text but the key point is that Stephen has taken Shrewsbury Castle and put its ninety-four defenders to death. Cadfael is sent from the abbey to prepare the bodies for proper burial but as he counts he notices that there are ninety-five bodies.

Attempts are made to persuade Cadfael that this is the result of a simple miscounting but he insists that there is an extra body, pointing out differences in the manner of death. This raises the question of who the body belongs to and why they were murdered.

I should acknowledge that this is another case where the reader has little opportunity to play armchair detective. If you are primarily in this for the puzzles you may feel shortchanged, though I am rather fond of stories that feature unidentified corpses!

For me, this opening situation is the most intriguing part of the story and I think the idea of hiding a corpse amongst other bodies is clever enough to feel novel and plausible while also seeming like the sort of crime that someone sufficiently diligent might be able to detect. I enjoyed following Cadfael’s efforts as he works to identify that body, all of which seem quite sensible and credible and I thought that the answer given was interesting, sending the narrative in a new direction.

Things tick along fairly well, if not particularly dramatically, until we get to the point at which our hero is ready to make their accusation. It is, of course, hard to describe the problem without spoiling developments in the story but it lies in the way that the crime will be proved. Those reading the novel as an adventure or for the historical setting will likely enjoy what follows and I suppose there is an argument to be made that the proof and reasoning are known to the detective but I felt that it was unsatisfying as a resolution and felt that it dragged on a little too long.

There is another issue with the book that has arisen when the reader comes to it with a knowledge of later titles – namely that much of the book is spent considering whether a character that will be a series regular is the guilty party. I don’t think that it is fair to criticise an author for this, particularly because I think that the choice to bring that character back was a good one, but it does mean that a key piece of misdirection that makes up a considerable part of the novel simply will not work as well as was intended for some readers.

In addition to the central mystery the book has several interesting side plots and characters, adding further interest to the setting and situation. The most entertaining of these for me concerns a youth who has just been admitted to the abbey as a lay servant with a year’s endowment and is sent to assist Cadfael with his work in the fields. I enjoyed getting to know this character and I liked the way it allows Cadfael to show more of his caring, protective side, revealing another aspect of his personality.

Cadfael also benefits from having a second investigator to bounce his ideas off, allowing more of his thoughts to be revealed through dialogue and action rather than in the narration. This also allows us to see him in a slightly different context, working alongside someone who appreciates his intelligence and with whom he can share his thoughts. There is a pleasing contrast between the two characters who share some traits in common but also have some significant differences and I think the interplay between those two characters is one of the most successful parts of the second half of the novel.

I feel that this second Cadfael adventure does a good job of building on the successes of the first while adding in a few new elements. As much as I enjoyed the politics of the cloister, it was good to get a story grounded in real (and very interesting) historical events and a chance to explore more aspects of Cadfael’s character. Admittedly the mystery elements are weak and undermined for those who may have read later stories in the series but in spite of that I found it to be an entertaining read with an interesting premise.

A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters

March 10, 2018
morbid
A Morbid Taste for Bones
Ellis Peters
Originally Published 1977
Brother Cadfael #1
Followed by One Corpse Too Many

What causes a book or a character to become popular? In the case of the Cadfael books, perhaps a better question would be to ask what caused them to cease to be so.

I am a child of the nineties and for those who were interested in mystery fiction in that period, Brother Cadfael was one of the biggest names in the genre. While I didn’t watch the television series, Ellis Peters’ novels were a fixture in the mystery sections of any competent booksellers and I remember other historical mysteries being sold with recommendations from TV star Derek Jacobi emblazoned on their covers so clearly the character had a following.

In the decades that have followed the series seems to have suffered a decline. Some of that would be an inevitable result of the television series having long since ended but from I also feel there has been a rising critical sentiment expressed towards the books. Take for instance this review of the book I’m writing about today from Puzzle Doctor in which he expresses the view that this is something of a snoozefest as well as not being a very well plotted mystery or this more tepid one from Rhapsody in Books which likens it to drinking light beer.

I first read A Morbid Taste for Bones when I went off to university, pilfering a copy from my father’s bookshelf (long since returned, I should add). My memories of the novel were quite positive so I was curious to see whether, having since become much more widely read in the genre, I would think it held up. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I still felt it did though, reading it with some of those criticisms in mind I can certainly acknowledge that there are some very valid criticisms to be made. Before I do so however I should probably outline the book for those few readers who didn’t try it back in its heyday.

Brother Cadfael is a former crusader who, upon his return, has opted for a monastic life of tending to the gardens at the abbey of Shrewsbury. The book opens with one of his fellow monks claiming to have had a vision of an obscure Welsh saint. This prompts the abbot to a party to set out on a journey to Gwytherin to claim her remains as a relic for their order and while Cadfael is a skeptic of this mission, he arranges to come along to act as an interpreter for these English-speaking monks.

After easily winning the assent of both the local church and secular authorities, they assume that it will be an easy matter to convince the community to relinquish the body but they encounter some unexpected resistance from a village leader. When that man is found murdered, Cadfael finds he is suspicious of everybody except the man blamed for the crime and starts to investigate.

Well, I say investigate but beyond looking at the body, inferring some aspects of how the man died and presenting a strong reason why the accused was innocent, his investigation mostly consists of setting traps that don’t work. In this respect I grant that Puzzle Doctor has a valid point – the mystery elements are weak and the plotting is far simpler than fans of historical mysteries may be used to. I think however that to judge the book purely as a mystery sort of misses the point.

Ellis Peters did not invent the historical mystery but she is widely credited with their popularization. What I think makes her work important is that she is able to create and sustain a series detective in a pre-industrial setting, creating a background that provides him with the skills he will need to be a credible investigator and finding natural ways to bring him into each case.

We may take it for granted these days that crimes took place in every period of history and could be solved but I think readers accept this because of Peters’ efforts. Even if later authors refined the techniques and improved on her style or storytelling approach, telling more conventional mysteries, Peters demonstrated that a character could credibly prove that someone committed a crime by looking at evidence and making logical deductions. She proved that if you provide readers with characters they could connect to, that they would be able to appreciate a story set in a period or region they may not know very much about.

Let’s go back to the specific details of this book. Cadfael is able to deduce from the state of the victim’s clothes, the geography of the crime scene, the appearance of the arrow and his personal knowledge of the suspect that they would be extremely unlikely to have committed the murder in the way assumed. From that he is able to suppose that if the person the evidence suggests did not do it then the evidence has been made to suggest it for a reason. None of this involves forensics or psychological analysis and yet from these judgments a whole set of ideas arise that will inform the rest of the investigation.

The critics are right to charge that the mystery is simplistic but then we need to keep this book in the context of the era in which it was written. Peters had every reason to question whether audiences would accept that a figure from this period could possibly engage in anything approaching ratiocination and the fact that the mysteries and their solutions are more simplistic reflects an effort to ensure that audiences could accept that.

Similarly, the introduction of romantic subplots may come off as manipulative and repetitive but it is hardly without precedent in the mystery genre. How many times did Agatha Christie or John Dickson Carr, for instance, end a story with seemingly doomed lovers pledging themselves to each other? I don’t think the two romances in this novel are particularly interesting but I equally don’t find them objectionable – they just provide credible character motivations.

What I do find compelling are the politics of the ecclesiastical characters and the cynicism the author ascribes to some of their motives. Writing about religious characters can be inherently tricky, particularly when discussing some aspects of belief that some readers may find difficult to take seriously such as the background given to Saint Winifred, but Peters manages to avoid making blanket statements and instead focuses on the individual decision making of human characters. Other books, such as Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose may take these ideas further and do more interesting things with them but I think Peters deserves credit for integrating them into her own work.

The other most frequent complaint about the novel relates to its pacing which is certainly leisurely. The murder does take place until well into the novel, meaning that the first part of the book is largely about an argument. I believe that this not only reflects that the book is conceived of as a mixture of historical fiction and mystery fiction, discussing themes of sainthood and the development of religious tradition in addition to telling its mystery story rather than conceiving of the historical themes and the mystery itself as a single cohesive idea. Remove the murder from this book and I think the story still works as a historical and theological drama. Remover the debates and the mystery would still make sense. The problem for the reader is that if you’re not interested in one of those two elements then whole chunks of this novel are bound to be dry reading.

To take all of these points together, I think it is clear why this book and the series it spawned was groundbreaking at the time and why it found an audience. A consequence of its success has been that the second and third generations of historical mystery writers do not feel the need to simplify or to convince their readers that a medieval person really could solve these sorts of crimes and this, as a result, feels a little old fashioned and awkward.

Personally I still enjoy the book immensely, in large part because I do find the religious politics so interesting and also because I liked the characterization of several supporting characters. I do recognize though that such things have a fairly narrow appeal and I would certainly not suggest that just because a book is historically significant means that it should be liked. Its popularity in the nineties was exaggerated and I think its ubiquity is at least partly responsible for the subsequent backlash against it.

Lastly, for those who haven’t tried it but are interested, I can recommend the excellent audio book reading by the marvellous Patrick Tull. This is one of those great cases of the right narrator being given a book that suits their style and I think he does a wonderful job with this material. The simple approach to plotting makes this easy to digest in audio format and I think his gravelly voice is absolutely perfect for Cadfael.