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95th out of 346 books
—
114 voters
The Summer of the Danes (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #18)
by
Ellis Peters
In the summer of 1144, a strange calm has settled over England. The armies of King Stephen & Empress Maud, the two royal cousins contending for the throne, have temporarily exhausted each other. On the whole, Brother Cadfael considers peace a blessing & agrees to accompany a friend to Wales. When Cadfael is captured by an army of Danish mercenaries, he finds himsel
...moreMass Market Paperback, 245 pages
Published
November 1st 1992
by Mysterious Press
(first published 1991)
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Another one out of the boxes - a quick blow then a swipe with the duster and I'll be able to read the cover.
Opening: The extraordinary events of that summer of 1144 may properly be said to have begun the previous year, in a tangle of threads both ecclesiastical and secular, a net in which any number of diverse people became enmeshed, clerics, from the archbishop down to Bishop Roger de Clinton's lowliest deacon, and the laity from the princes of North Wales down to the humblest cottager in the t...more
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Cadfael gets the opportunity to return to Wales again, this time in the company of his former novice Mark, now a cleric on an embassy between bishops. As always, there's soon a murder to unravel and this time a war to get involved in. However England, Wales and Ireland of the 12th century is a kinder gentler place under the hand of Ellis Peters and both warring princes are wise and noble men, looking to minimize the body count and restore peace.
This is another great installment in the Cadfael s...more
This is another great installment in the Cadfael s...more
Outside the Main Sequence of Cadael stories, but a rollicking good tale. Whenever Cadfael has leave to get close to his Welsh roots, you can be sure murder and mayhem will follow. This time Cadfael must solve a crime with international implications or what passes for order in northern Wales may be overturned.
Cadfael series: excellent historical fiction. Ellis Peters draws the reader into the twelfth century with modern story telling but holds us there with a richness of detail which evokes a tim...more
Cadfael series: excellent historical fiction. Ellis Peters draws the reader into the twelfth century with modern story telling but holds us there with a richness of detail which evokes a tim...more
This is one of the most memorable of the Cadfael series because it's such a departure: set deep in Wales, far from the abbey, and the plot revolves around historical events in that region rather than the Anarchy (King Stephen vs. Empress Maud) in England. And there are Vikings! Ok, not actually Vikings. The titular Danes are Irish Danes from Dublin, but I always picture them as Vikings.
The novel inserts Cadfael into an feud between Owain Gwynedd, ruler of North Wales (a historical figure who has...more
The novel inserts Cadfael into an feud between Owain Gwynedd, ruler of North Wales (a historical figure who has...more
Yet another Brother Cadfael mystery; but this one is set mostly in Wales, which suits Brother Cadfael (born Cadfael ap Meilyr ap Dafydd, in the Welsh Kingdom of Gwynedd) just fine. This mystery also introduces Brother Mark, once the protegé of Brother Cadfael in the Abbey, and now deacon to Roger de Clinton, the Bishop of Coventry. Deacon Mark has been sent to Wales as an envoy to other bishops, and naturally invites Brother Cadfael to come along as companion and translator. Naturally, this gets...more
Cadfael accompanies the Bishop of Lichfield's representative as interpreter on a journey to the newly-revived Welsh diocese of St Asaph. The journey is more eventful than expected. The Danish fleet is sighted approaching the Menai Strait, a girl disappears and a corpse is discovered. [return][return]Cadfael goes back home into Wales, to act as interpreter between the new abbot, and the local princes. [return][return]Problems occur, when the younger brother of one of the princes, who has been dis...more
This is probably my least favourite of the Cadfael books. I usually love to visit Cadfael's world, but this time I feel like Ellis Peters dropped the ball. The story hopped about with little focus. The 'mystery' played almost no role in the story and Cadfael didn't get up to any of his usual interesting hijinx. Even the Vikings were boring. I feel like she tied herself to some historical event and got tangled up in the details and forgot to give us a story.
All this said, I am a huge fan of Pete...more
All this said, I am a huge fan of Pete...more
Most historical histories don't appeal to me, but this series set in the early Anglo-Saxon TwelMedieval times does, for some reason. I enjoy Brother Cadfael and his herb garden & his homely way of solving crimes. Though Cadfael solves no crime in this novel, this volume was a little bloodier than most, and less representative, with Cadfael searching out his Welsh roots far from his Benedictine home. As always, however, the human and the inanimate landscapes are lovingly portrayed with a pain...more
One of my top favorites in Ellis Peters' wonderful series of stories about Brother Cadfael, a Welsh-born, crusader-turned-Benedictine monk and herbalist. All the stories are rich with characters, history, landscape and culture, and threaded with Cadfael's sage views on life. Set in the summer of 1144, this one is especially nice because Cadfael gets captured by Danes! and the scene shifts to the beautiful Welsh coastline. As the cover quote from the Houston Post says, "Ellis Peters weaves a comp...more
I purchased this book back in September of 2010, but never got around to actually reading it until January of 2013. #shameonme
The Story.
When Brother Mark requests Brother Cadfael’s service as translator for an important ecclesiastical envoy which is journeying to Saint Asaph to honor the new Bishop there, Brother Cadfael joyfully accepts. He is relieved to have a change of scenery – the Benedictine Abbey at Shrewbury, while excellent for holy living, is not exciting. Not that Brother Cadfael exp...more
The Story.
When Brother Mark requests Brother Cadfael’s service as translator for an important ecclesiastical envoy which is journeying to Saint Asaph to honor the new Bishop there, Brother Cadfael joyfully accepts. He is relieved to have a change of scenery – the Benedictine Abbey at Shrewbury, while excellent for holy living, is not exciting. Not that Brother Cadfael exp...more
I am finding as I read these novels that Peters is not consistent. This one should not be labeled a mystery. Oh there is a body and early enough that one thinks a mystery is to be solved, but Cadfael certainly has no part in it, or so little at the begining that one thinks that Peters/Pargeter wanted to indulge in the aspects of the time period that she found more fascinating.
Through 17 earlier adventurers we have warmed to Brother Cadfael and seen that his keen mind and his ability to be a deep...more
Through 17 earlier adventurers we have warmed to Brother Cadfael and seen that his keen mind and his ability to be a deep...more
Since I thought that I had all of the Brother Cadfael series books, I was surprised to come across this 1991 edition at a book sail. Cadfael is accompanying a young monk named Mark, and the daughter of a cleric who is embarassed by having a daughter, when they travel to Wales where a company of Danes shows up and provides dissension between two royal brothers. There is treachery, and divisiveness, with the young girl providing an interersting counterpoint. It is always a treat to read a Cadfael...more
Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael series - set around 1000/1100, a Welsh man who had been with the Crusades, soldier/sailor, loved women etc settles down to retirement as a Benedictine monk, working as an apothecary within the abbey and the community, and assisting the sheriff with mysteries. He's a really wholesome character who understands people and life, not at all narrow and irritating. There is also a series of movies made based on these books with Derek Jacobi playing Brother Cadfael
I collected all of the Brother Cadfael mysteries but the last, which I didn't care for as much. This one is something of a romp, but with underlying themes of loyalty, love (of a vassal for his lord), and betrayal. Others have reviewed it in depth. For me, it was a wonderful, enjoyable read for the character of Llewellyn the great, who is facing the Danes.
This is a bright, enjoyable story and a fascinating mystery with a satisfying ending.
This is a bright, enjoyable story and a fascinating mystery with a satisfying ending.
These suspenseful stories include pinches of romance, devotion, and humor, as well as truly unique characters. The mysteries use as background superb portrayals of 12th Century England. The author is a noted Medieval scholar. Positive. Caution: the series is aimed at adults, not adolescents. Many themes of these mystery novels are ADULT themes, including rape, abuse of various sorts, etc. They are all positive, ultimately.
This was not a half-bad historical fiction story. The problem was that the author insisted on making it part of the "Brother Cadfael" mystery series and it was not a good mystery. A murder occurred in the first 20 pages and the culpret confessed in the last 5 pages. What happened in between had nothing to do with the mystery. There was no investigation, no clues and no suspects. I can only assume that the author really wanted to tell the story and really wanted to sell a lot of books and this wa...more
This was less of a mystery than others in the series, though there was a dead body. It seemed to be more of a chance to explore the politics of the time and develop the relationship between Cadfael and Brother Mark. It was also a chance for Cadfael to do some traveling again and maybe liven up the series with a bunch of new characters that probably won't show up again.
I always enjoy the books where Cadfael gets to go to Wales, so I didn't mind that there really wasn't much of a mystery. The supporting characters were interesting, and we get to meet some Danes as well. I was very glad that to see Brother Mark again; I have missed him. The relationship between him and Cadfael is on of my favorite in the series.
I have mixed feelings about this Cadfael mystery, because it's barely a mystery at all. As a work of historical fiction it is very good. As a mystery... not so much. The question of "whodunnit?" takes a distant second to the main plot, involving the arrival of the Danes and the conflict between the two Welsh princely brothers. The mystery can be solved by the reader, after a fashion, long before the end of the book, simply through process of elimination: there are very, very few suspects, and mo...more
It is now summer, 1144. In the Eighteenth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael, The Summer of the Danes, Brother Cadfael accompanies Brother Mark to Wales on a mission of church diplomacy. Because the feud between King Stephen and Empress Maud is presently quiet, they expect a restful trip but that isn't to be.
The Brother Cadfael series by Ellis Peters is a wonderful set of mysteries that take place in 12th century England. Ellis Peters does a wonderful job of describing all the characters and she is a great mystery writer. The cases are complicated enough to make them interesting.
Brother Cadfael's Day Off
Brother Cadfael's Trip to the Beach
The Summer of the Danes: Sleeping My Way Through Copenhagen and Other Life Experiences
I! Think! I! Love! You! But What Am I So Afraid Of?
I'm On A Boat, Bitch! And So Are All These Other Vikings
Brother Cadfael's Trip to the Beach
The Summer of the Danes: Sleeping My Way Through Copenhagen and Other Life Experiences
I! Think! I! Love! You! But What Am I So Afraid Of?
I'm On A Boat, Bitch! And So Are All These Other Vikings
I recently reread this, aloud. It's one of the later Cadfaels, and one in which Peters seems more interested in exploring the a romance set against a Welsh historical background than really getting deeply into a mystery. Cadfael is present more as an observer than an actor in events. As with all of her writing, though, the prose is lyrical and flawless. Read it more as an historical romance and a glimpse of a might-have-been moment in Owain Gwynedd's Wales than a 'whodunit', though.
Cadfael takes a vacation. Strange to read a Cadfael mystery where there is little mystery and no role for Cadfael other than to sit on the sidelines and watch the action. I always enjoy Ellis Peters' writing style and use of language though so still liked the story.
This one was OK. Brother Cadfael had a much lesser part in the story, and the mystery was solved by a deathbed confession. I felt the plot was a bit weak.
This is the weakest of the series. By page 60 (I think) you know how it will end, and you spend the rest of the book waiting for Peters to get there.
I've read all of the Brother Cadfaels randomly. Then I bought the entire set and started with the 1st chronicle. Cadfael came to an end a few years ago, with the death of his author, so I do have the complete set. (R.I.P)
Ellis Peters has a wonderful eye for the landscape. A Brother Cadfael novel is a trip back to 12th century England near the Welsh borderlands. I understand that her characters are standard stock and her plots rather predictable -- that's part of the attraction. But even knowing...more
Ellis Peters has a wonderful eye for the landscape. A Brother Cadfael novel is a trip back to 12th century England near the Welsh borderlands. I understand that her characters are standard stock and her plots rather predictable -- that's part of the attraction. But even knowing...more
I love the whole Brother Cadfael series, but I think this is my favorite. Very peaceful, great character studies.
More historical travelogue than mystery, which is why I didn't like this as much as the other Brother Cadfael books.
The mystery got a bit lost in this one, and it seemed long-winded. Still a pleasant read, though.
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A pseudonym used by Edith Pargeter.
Edith Mary Pargeter, BEM (September 28, 1913 in Horsehay, Shropshire, England –October 14, 1995) was a prolific author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics; she is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both historical and modern. Born in the village of Horsehay...more
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Edith Mary Pargeter, BEM (September 28, 1913 in Horsehay, Shropshire, England –October 14, 1995) was a prolific author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics; she is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both historical and modern. Born in the village of Horsehay...more
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