Edith Pargeter, an Englishwoman, was not a historian by training, but under the pseudonym Ellis Peters she created one of the most popular detective series—its plot closely tied to major historical events that shook 12th-century England and Wales, from where Pargeter’s ancestors came.
“The Brother Cadfael Chronicles” are both political detective fiction—because the action unfolds against the backdrop of a civil war between supporters of the legitimate claimant to Queen Matilda’s throne and King Stephen of Blois, who seized the throne by force—and classic, intimate stories that happen among the residents of the town of Shrewsbury and its surroundings, as well as among the inhabitants of the Shrewsbury Benedictine abbey. It is here, in the evening of his life, that an old crusader retired—an experienced soldier who, having taken the name of Brother Cadfael, decided to spend the rest of his days peacefully, serving God and healing people. But instead, Cadfael—an astute connoisseur of human souls and a man of rich life experience—has to investigate all sorts of crimes again and again, and not only save bodies, but also souls…
Christmas, 1141. The death of a beloved priest leaves the parish grieving. His successor is talented and educated, yet lacks mercy to guide ordinary sinners. And when a young priest is found dead, there’s no shortage of suspects: he managed to turn his entire congregation against himself. Who is guilty of the death of a cruel moralist? What is justice? As always, Brother Cadfael must answer questions not only of reason, but also of the heart.