This edition begins with a tip-in preface, announcing the death of Ellis Peters in 1995. The book was in final stages of publication, and the news of her death arrived, the preface says, after it was too late to change the capsule biography at the end. Which is not why I didn't read this until I'd read and reread the rest of the series (except A Rare Benedictine, which I've left to the end). I didn't read it because I knew it was the last, and I didn't want the series to end.And there's no real reason why it should be the end. The Rule says that an errant brother should be allowed to return, with proper penance, until the third time. Brother Cadfael hasn't been an ideal monk (though he argues that his stretching of the rules has been in service of the Rule--the spirit, rather than the letter, of the law), but he hasn't wandered TOO far afield before this. And, as he's pointed out, his penance ends when Abbot Radulfus says "It is enough".There's some evidence that Peters intended at least three to five more books. So much has been left unsettled. For example, does it seem likely that Brother Cadfael would never meet his grandchildren? This volume begins in November of 1145, and Brother Cadfael is 62 (sorry, make that 65. Doing the math, this would make his birth year to be 1083 (other correction, 1080)--that is, before the death of William le Batard (1087). How much the invasion of Wales would have affected ordinary Welsh villeins is not clear. Brother Cadfael regards himself as at the November of his life. But November is not the end of the year. Once he'd settled back into his herbarium, is it likely he'd never be caught up in another case?The actual murder, as pointed out, has little bearing on the story. The killer is shielded by the Sue Storm effect, and never even becomes a formal suspect. Yves Hugonin was never a very plausible suspect, and only a zealot like Philip, turncoat son of Robert of Gloucester. would have seriously considered him as a suspect.Cadfael's journey to find and try to ransom his (privately but not publicly acknowledged) son is not fruitless, though its fruits could not easily have been anticipated.Peters has some odd notions of kinship. She argues in the previous book that twins are the most closely related people of all (true only of identical twins). In this book, she argues that the relationship of father and son is the closest possible kinship. This is plain nonsense. Clearly the relationship between identical twins is the closest: but following that, the closest relationship is between MOTHER and children (because of mitochondrial DNA, if nothing else). The only thing that binds fathers closer to sons is that the father provides the Y chromosome--but in both sexes, it's the mother that provides at least one of the X chromosomes.One point about the Mysterious Press editions that I've meant to mention before is that they're very subject to misprints--an average of one or two per chapter. These are most often spellchecker failures; by which I mean to say that they're often perfectly acceptable English words: just not the one evidently intended, in context. This is occasionally distracting to the careful reader, who may be left wondering "Is this a mistake, or just a usage I'm not familiar with?". And it's hard to say, for sure. Sometimes it's one, and sometimes it's t'other, I'd hazard.In all the other books, if Cadfael leaves the Abbey, he's sure he's coming home to a welcome. His emotions when he comes home to an uncertain welcome are not because he has nowhere else to go (he gets offers from both Hugh Beringar and Yves Hugonin). Rather it's that he's committed his heart to the Abbey, and it would break him, psychically if not physically, if he couldn't return. And psychic trauma has a way of becoming fatal, in that any physical shock can kill, even if it ordinarily wouldn't. Which is probably why the title emphasizes the penance, and the hope that the penance will be acceptable.
Early 12th century England, Empress Maud and King Stephen are disputing the rightful occupancy of the English throne. Noble houses are contending against one another on opposing sides of the dispute. Families are rent apart, upholding opposite sides of the conflict. The subjects of the monarchy, whoever might win, are at the whim of warfare. Land goes unworked, men are taken from their occupations, their families, their land, to fight the ongoing war. Brother Cadfael's son, Olivier de Bretagne, has been taken prisoner at the fall of Faringdon, which was given over to King Stephen by six of Maud's erstwhile field commanders, taking their armies with them. Friendships are torn asunder by this act of treason, and no one will divulge where Olivier is being held. There has been no acknowledgment of ransom for his release which is the usual way of things amongst those belonging to houses that presume ascendancy over the ordinary men. Cadfael sets out to find him by first attending a conference in Coventry, which is sanctioned by the church in hopes of finding a compromise to peace.Peters (Edith Pargeter, in truth) writes early Enhlish history with a sure hand, and a love of the subject. She pays close attention to the dispute, but even better, she spends a good amount of time bringing the scene to life. Her knowledge of her way around mediaeval keeps and fortress installations brings a true feel to the way of life in these old castles. Her characterizations are deft and interesting.
What do You think about Brother Cadfael's Penance (1996)?
I have reviewed many of these in this series in the last few days as I try to finish the series before the end of 2008. Well one to go, but after this, the penultimate, can it get better? If you can get past that there is little need for a mystery, for the body is truly a device to continue the action of what is a first rate historical.We have spent twenty tales with Cadfael and Hugh and the others of the times. We have Bishop de Clinton, and Earl Beaumont, and even King Stephen. Now we meet Empress Maud but more importantly her nephew Phillip. The tale of what takes place in and around the events of the Coventry Peace conference of 1145 and how Cadfael and Hugh find their way there and the actions that Cadfael must see to of a personal nature is worth the price of admission.The body, the murder is not important. We have 19 tales that have set this up to be what Pargeter, what Peters seems to do better, give us the setting of this civil war and a story to encompass it. This is the must read of the series.
—D.w.
Sadly, the last of the Brother Cadfael series (#20). A good way to end it, though. Although this book didn't sweep me off my feet, I enjoyed it, and as usual it was elegantly written and included interesting historical details. It always takes me a little while, though, to remember what's going on in terms of the fighting going on in England during the 12th century--Peters is a little murky in catching readers up on this, I think. If you read them one after the other I'm sure it makes more sense. Cadfael is an appealing character, and the series is worth reading--they're serious mysteries, somewhere in between Southern Sisters (total fluff) and P.D. James (dark and serious).
—Debbie Howell
Who would have thought that a mystery book would make me cry? But cry I did. The book was simply a lovely end to a delightful mystery series. Brother Cadfael, the main character and a Benedictine Monk has to make a hard decision when he discovers his son has been captured by an enemy. If he strays too far from the dictates his leader has given, he could be in danger of losing his chosen vocation as a Benedictine monk. He loves his service as a monk, but his call to see after his son is equally powerful and strong. What follows is a fascinating story where we get an in-depth look at the civil war between King Stephen and Empress Maud, both arrogant as they literally rip the country apart to gain the throne of England. Maud is shown as arrogant, cold and ruthless in her quest for power. Ironically, her followers are not portrayed as ruthless or particularly power-hungry. Ellis Peters implies that Maud has almost hypnotic power over the men who served her. At the heart of story is the complicated story of Philip, son of Robert of Gloucester, Maud's most trusted advisor and half-brother. Philip switches loyalties from Maud to King Stephn in an attempt to sway the balance in Stephen's favor and end the war. Brother Cadfael is finally able to divine the location of his son, Olivier, whose fate is intertwined with that of Philip's. The story was absolutely fascinating. The historical detail was mesmerizing. But above all, for me, the story of father-son relationships, religious obligations, political loyalties, personal ambitions, and the desire to serve moved me. Cadfael's journey is poignant. But please take the time to read the whole series. I think the end is worth waiting for, after reading the previous 19 books. Ellis Peters is such a great writer. And the end of her series was just stunning.
—Tiffany Wacaser
