This Brother Cadfael book actually isn’t about a murder, for a change. After Winchester was sacked as part of the civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud, the brothers of the Benedictine monastery there have scattered to neighboring monasteries. Brothers Humilis and Fidelis have come to Shrewsbury, which is near where Brother Humilis […]
An Excellent Mystery – Ellis Peters Read More »
I must first note that the back cover blurb on the modern edition of this book is terrible – it gives away the climax of the book, and doesn’t really give you a flavor of what came before it. Here, we have Sir Waldo Hawkridge, lately having inherited a Yorkshire estate from an eccentric cousin.
The Nonesuch – Georgette Heyer Read More »
Here’s a Brother Cadfael book where the murder doesn’t occur in Shrewsbury (which is probably a good thing – all those murders in one town can’t be that good for civic moral). At the same time as the festival of the Translation of Saint Winifred to the monastery, while pilgrims are arriving, the Abbot is
The Pilgrim of Hate – Ellis Peters Read More »
I’m only going to attempt a vague outline of this story, because if I tried to sketch the high level of the plots that actually culminate at the end, I’d both take too long, and end up being confusing. Lord Spenborough was on his second wife, as his first marriage resulted only in a daughter
Bath Tangle – Georgette Heyer Read More »
Sylvester, the Duke of Salford, has decided he must marry, and has presented his mother with a rather exacting list of things he needs in this wife. Naturally, this flies out the window when he meets Phoebe Marlow. Pheobe’s the daughter of a dear friend of his mother’s, but she’s not necessarily high society. And
Sylvester: or the Wicked Uncle – Georgette Heyer Read More »
The civil war between King Stephen and his cousin, the Empress Maud, continues, and now the Welsh are wading in. Gilbert Prescote, the sheriff in Shrewsbury, has gone north with his men to stand against Welsh raiders who are trying to help some rebel barons, and has the misfortune of being caught by the Welsh
Dead Man’s Ransom – Ellis Peters Read More »
Elinor is on her way to become a governess for a wealthy woman in the country – a job she’s had to take after her father gambled away the family’s fortune. She’s met at the post coach by the house’s personal coach, and about an hour later is shown into the study of a man
The Reluctant Widow – Georgette Heyer Read More »
This is the second of Barron’s Jane Austen mysteries, and we find Jane, her parents, and sister Cassandra off to take the sea air for the month of September in Lyme, which is where her novel Persuasion is partially set. On the way, a storm overturns their carriage, injuring Cassandra, and forcing them to take
Jane and the Man of the Cloth – Stephanie Barron Read More »
Read for the RIP XI Reading Challenge. This is the eighth book in the Brother Cadfael books, and while all of the books deal with the civil war between King Stephen and Empress Maud in some degree (and it does touch this story), this book ends up being more about family drama, which is a
The Devil’s Novice – Ellis Peters Read More »
Yeah, I had to skim the last few chapters of this book. It falls into Heyer’s older man marries younger woman seemingly for convenience, but it’s really a love match, except the two haven’t told each other, so shenanigans ensue trope. In this case, the book unfolds with Lord Cardross (Giles) firmly scolding
April Lady – Georgette Heyer Read More »