What do you think?
Rate this book
Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #17
The Potter's Field
When a newly plowed field recently given to the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul yields the body of a young woman, Brother Cadfael is quickly thrown into a delicate situation. The field was once owned by a local potter named Ruald, who had abandoned his beautiful wife, Generys, to take monastic vows.Generys was said to have gone away with a lover, but now it seems as if she had been murdered. With the arrival at the abbey of young Sulien Blount, a novice fleeing homeward from the civil war raging in East Anglia, the mysteries surrounding the corpse start to multiply.
Hardcover
First published September 1, 1989
1066 people are currently reading
2214 people want to read
About the author
Ellis Peters
207 books1,146 followersA pseudonym used by Edith Pargeter.
Edith Mary Pargeter, OBE, BEM 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 (Shropshire, England), she had Welsh ancestry, and many of her short stories and books (both fictional and non-fictional) were set in Wales and its borderlands.
During World War II, she worked in an administrative role in the Women's Royal Naval Service, and received the British Empire Medal - BEM.
Pargeter wrote under a number of pseudonyms; it was under the name Ellis Peters that she wrote the highly popular series of Brother Cadfael medieval mysteries, many of which were made into films for television.
Edith Mary Pargeter, OBE, BEM 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 (Shropshire, England), she had Welsh ancestry, and many of her short stories and books (both fictional and non-fictional) were set in Wales and its borderlands.
During World War II, she worked in an administrative role in the Women's Royal Naval Service, and received the British Empire Medal - BEM.
Pargeter wrote under a number of pseudonyms; it was under the name Ellis Peters that she wrote the highly popular series of Brother Cadfael medieval mysteries, many of which were made into films for television.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 302 reviews
August 15, 2014
A few days ago I was about to go to the summer cottage without electronic devices, and because I didn't feel like reading anything from the pile I already had, I went to the library to see if there were more Elizabeth Peters's
Amelia Peabody
adventures. Apparently, the library hasn't acquired them in order (the horror!), so I have to buy the next one if I'm planning on reading it. Then I saw something interesting next to the other Peters's novels: crime novels where a monk is doing the investigating. A monk! This has to be good, I thought, and something totally different than the tediousness that is
The Name of the Rose
(1980).
I was laying on the pier and eating strawberries, when the skeleton was found from the field. From there on I was instantly hooked. I couldn't have been more wrong in my guesses for the culprit, although the ending made complete sense, and was even a bit medieval in a way. Although I prefer only the final revelation instead of the characters constantly repeating the evidence gathered so far and who could be guilty, I still enjoyed following Cadfael in his efforts to find who did it.
Things were also made more interesting by Cadfael being stuck in the monastery, since he had to ask permission for errands not related to his vocation, and because of that he had Hugh the sheriff to help him in the outside world. Not that Cadfael is a master detective. He and Hugh seemed pretty equal in their brain activity, although Cadfael is naturally the one who solves the case.
Not only that the mystery is rewarding, but Peters is also a wonderful writer in general. She depicts the environment and the monastic life vividly and beautifully, and weaves thoughts about life and religion into the narrative (of which the contrast between secular and monastic life was the most interesting). Her monks are imperfect and people's behavior in general is plausible and suitable for the time period.
My brain has a minor glitch what comes to the history of the Middle Ages, so the parts where Peters explains a little about the historical background went completely over my head. I have no idea who the king was, I can't remember who were fighting and why etc. That's just a small thing, however, because they're not important in understanding the plot. Although it should be noted that Peters never went to college but was self-taught, which is incredibly impressive.
The series is suitable for reading out of order, which is always a plus for me. I will store Peters in my mind for those days when I don't feel like reading anything particularly challenging, but still something a bit more serious.
I was laying on the pier and eating strawberries, when the skeleton was found from the field. From there on I was instantly hooked. I couldn't have been more wrong in my guesses for the culprit, although the ending made complete sense, and was even a bit medieval in a way. Although I prefer only the final revelation instead of the characters constantly repeating the evidence gathered so far and who could be guilty, I still enjoyed following Cadfael in his efforts to find who did it.
Things were also made more interesting by Cadfael being stuck in the monastery, since he had to ask permission for errands not related to his vocation, and because of that he had Hugh the sheriff to help him in the outside world. Not that Cadfael is a master detective. He and Hugh seemed pretty equal in their brain activity, although Cadfael is naturally the one who solves the case.
Not only that the mystery is rewarding, but Peters is also a wonderful writer in general. She depicts the environment and the monastic life vividly and beautifully, and weaves thoughts about life and religion into the narrative (of which the contrast between secular and monastic life was the most interesting). Her monks are imperfect and people's behavior in general is plausible and suitable for the time period.
My brain has a minor glitch what comes to the history of the Middle Ages, so the parts where Peters explains a little about the historical background went completely over my head. I have no idea who the king was, I can't remember who were fighting and why etc. That's just a small thing, however, because they're not important in understanding the plot. Although it should be noted that Peters never went to college but was self-taught, which is incredibly impressive.
The series is suitable for reading out of order, which is always a plus for me. I will store Peters in my mind for those days when I don't feel like reading anything particularly challenging, but still something a bit more serious.
October 14, 2025
Entering the world of Brother Cadfael is always a delight as I feel like time slows down and the world makes sense. The Potter's Field didn't exactly disappoint but the motive behind the dead body seemed unlikely.
November 13, 2018
Actual rating 3.5 stars.
May 21, 2019
"In stillness and quietness whispers are heard clearly, and the rustle of a leaf has meaning." (Loc. 2037-2038).
Some books are like macaroni and cheese, bread pudding, rice pudding, a savory mushroom soup: warm and satisfying, yet comforting. Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael mysteries are like this. They are safe (they play fair), challenging (I can't let my mind run across the page, but have to pay attention), and only somewhat about death (more about life).
Her Potter's Field is all of these. It is 1143, and King Stephen and Empress Maud continue their shenanigans in the background; in this book, the people of Shropshire even head to war. They also return without a single casualty. But the foreground includes an unidentified, but clearly loved body, buried on unconsecrated ground. Who is she? Was she murdered? And by whom? And, of course, the foreground also includes the stories that swirl around this story, which to my mind are more interesting than the murder.
One of these stories is of vocation and the consequences of choosing to follow that vocation. Sometimes it is clear, as it is for Cadfael:
After all manner of journeying, fighting, endurance of heat and cold and hardship, after the pleasures and the pains of experience, the sudden irresistible longing to turn about and withdraw into quietness remained a mystery. Not a retreat, certainly. Rather an emergence into light and certainty. (Loc. 139-141)
Sometimes it is less clear, as with Ruald, who finds peace in his vocation, but that vocation brings pain to his wife, Generys, who is alone, but cannot remarry. Sulien, the younger brother of the new lord of Longner, declared his vocation, but then doubted.
What interests me is that Peters' characters do not behave as one might expect. Abbot Radulfus, for example, himself doubts Sulien's vocation, yet respects Sulien's doubt and encourages him to discover what is best for himself.
"It behoves a man to look within himself, and turn to the best dedication possible those endowments he has from his Maker. You do no wrong in questioning what once you held to be right for you, if now it has come to seem wrong. Put away all thought of being bound. We do not want you bound. No one who is not free can give freely.” (Loc. 821-823)
No one who is not free can give freely.
Peters' stories do not get tied up neatly with a bow, yet they are satisfying. Life's questions are often thorny, without easy answers.
Some books are like macaroni and cheese, bread pudding, rice pudding, a savory mushroom soup: warm and satisfying, yet comforting. Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael mysteries are like this. They are safe (they play fair), challenging (I can't let my mind run across the page, but have to pay attention), and only somewhat about death (more about life).
Her Potter's Field is all of these. It is 1143, and King Stephen and Empress Maud continue their shenanigans in the background; in this book, the people of Shropshire even head to war. They also return without a single casualty. But the foreground includes an unidentified, but clearly loved body, buried on unconsecrated ground. Who is she? Was she murdered? And by whom? And, of course, the foreground also includes the stories that swirl around this story, which to my mind are more interesting than the murder.
One of these stories is of vocation and the consequences of choosing to follow that vocation. Sometimes it is clear, as it is for Cadfael:
After all manner of journeying, fighting, endurance of heat and cold and hardship, after the pleasures and the pains of experience, the sudden irresistible longing to turn about and withdraw into quietness remained a mystery. Not a retreat, certainly. Rather an emergence into light and certainty. (Loc. 139-141)
Sometimes it is less clear, as with Ruald, who finds peace in his vocation, but that vocation brings pain to his wife, Generys, who is alone, but cannot remarry. Sulien, the younger brother of the new lord of Longner, declared his vocation, but then doubted.
What interests me is that Peters' characters do not behave as one might expect. Abbot Radulfus, for example, himself doubts Sulien's vocation, yet respects Sulien's doubt and encourages him to discover what is best for himself.
"It behoves a man to look within himself, and turn to the best dedication possible those endowments he has from his Maker. You do no wrong in questioning what once you held to be right for you, if now it has come to seem wrong. Put away all thought of being bound. We do not want you bound. No one who is not free can give freely.” (Loc. 821-823)
No one who is not free can give freely.
Peters' stories do not get tied up neatly with a bow, yet they are satisfying. Life's questions are often thorny, without easy answers.
March 25, 2013
The Potter's Field by Edith Pargeter (pen name Ellis Peters) is the seventeenth installment in the Brother Cadfael series of mysteries.
Cadfael is a Benedictine monk who works a vegetable garden and herbarium in an abbey in medieval Shrewsbury, England. At some distance from the town, the Empress Maude and her cousin King Stephen wage intermittent war for the throne of England. This bloody history often influences the main story and helps to ground us in the times. As a lover of historical novels, I took great pleasure basking in the pastoral settings, moral code, and customs of the time. The characters' speech is charmingly formal and somewhat archaic but not at all difficult to follow.
Cadfael solves mysteries (always having to do with one or more unnatural deaths) with his friend Hugh Beringar, the sheriff of Shrewsbury. Their conversations almost always home in unerringly on suspects' true feelings and motives. This might seem unbelievable, but I think it is true to the simplicity of medieval times. Without i-phones, stock options, fantasy football, traffic and job competition to distract them, Cadfael and Hugh can engage more fully in observing people and analyze the reasons why they do what they do. (It also helps move the plot along, which I prefer to wallowing, page after page, in red herrings.)
In this story, the much-decayed body of a woman is found in a field owned by the abbey. The field had been worked by a potter named Ruald who gave up his work and his wife to join the abbey as a monk. The wife was very bitter about their separation and disappeared, reportedly with a lover, soon after Ruald entered the monastic life. The plot revolves around attempts to identify the body and find the cause of death and the person or persons who brought it about.
I've read half a dozen of the Cadfael stories and like them all. The Potter's Field is special to me for two reasons. First, the ending is surprising--and rather horrible--but quite plausible. Like all the best mysteries, the clues are right in plain sight like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, but not all that easy to assemble into the final picture. Second, the characters of the people involved, including the dead woman, are delicately yet vividly limned, so that you come to understand their emotions and motivations, some of which may be very different from anything you've ever experienced.
Cadfael is a Benedictine monk who works a vegetable garden and herbarium in an abbey in medieval Shrewsbury, England. At some distance from the town, the Empress Maude and her cousin King Stephen wage intermittent war for the throne of England. This bloody history often influences the main story and helps to ground us in the times. As a lover of historical novels, I took great pleasure basking in the pastoral settings, moral code, and customs of the time. The characters' speech is charmingly formal and somewhat archaic but not at all difficult to follow.
Cadfael solves mysteries (always having to do with one or more unnatural deaths) with his friend Hugh Beringar, the sheriff of Shrewsbury. Their conversations almost always home in unerringly on suspects' true feelings and motives. This might seem unbelievable, but I think it is true to the simplicity of medieval times. Without i-phones, stock options, fantasy football, traffic and job competition to distract them, Cadfael and Hugh can engage more fully in observing people and analyze the reasons why they do what they do. (It also helps move the plot along, which I prefer to wallowing, page after page, in red herrings.)
In this story, the much-decayed body of a woman is found in a field owned by the abbey. The field had been worked by a potter named Ruald who gave up his work and his wife to join the abbey as a monk. The wife was very bitter about their separation and disappeared, reportedly with a lover, soon after Ruald entered the monastic life. The plot revolves around attempts to identify the body and find the cause of death and the person or persons who brought it about.
I've read half a dozen of the Cadfael stories and like them all. The Potter's Field is special to me for two reasons. First, the ending is surprising--and rather horrible--but quite plausible. Like all the best mysteries, the clues are right in plain sight like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, but not all that easy to assemble into the final picture. Second, the characters of the people involved, including the dead woman, are delicately yet vividly limned, so that you come to understand their emotions and motivations, some of which may be very different from anything you've ever experienced.
August 22, 2021
Mehh not my kind of detective novel, but I'm glad I tried it out by borrowing it from bf's mum.
November 18, 2024
“Earth is innocent. Only the use we make of it can mar it.”
Excellent historical fiction. Amid England’s Anarchy a corpse demands identification and justice. Murder, maybe. Red herrings, false accusations, and budding romance abound. Mystery's video got close to right.
“I made a choice. It was even a hard choice, but I made it, and I hold to it. I am no such elect saint as Ruald.” “Is that a saint? It seems too easy.”
Why (and how) do people decide to leave the world? In a twisting whodunit, Pargeter explores the nature of a religious vocation and issues of life and death. Well plotted.
“If I am become a mere subtle, suspicious old man, too prone to see devious practices where none are, then I would rather not draw any other man into the same unworthy quagmire.”
The sheriff and abbot are becoming too predictable, but that’s inevitable with an ensemble cast. Interesting new characters. I’ve missed Jerome. He’s back being … himself. The officious busybody we love to hate.
“I think truth, like the burgeoning of a bulb under the soil, however deeply sown, will make its way to the light.”
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 time and place which evokes epic fantasy. Though the foreground of each chronicle is a murder mystery, behind it a nation and a culture (and a touch of romance) are woven into each wondrous tapestry.
Excellent historical fiction. Amid England’s Anarchy a corpse demands identification and justice. Murder, maybe. Red herrings, false accusations, and budding romance abound. Mystery's video got close to right.
“I made a choice. It was even a hard choice, but I made it, and I hold to it. I am no such elect saint as Ruald.” “Is that a saint? It seems too easy.”
Why (and how) do people decide to leave the world? In a twisting whodunit, Pargeter explores the nature of a religious vocation and issues of life and death. Well plotted.
“If I am become a mere subtle, suspicious old man, too prone to see devious practices where none are, then I would rather not draw any other man into the same unworthy quagmire.”
The sheriff and abbot are becoming too predictable, but that’s inevitable with an ensemble cast. Interesting new characters. I’ve missed Jerome. He’s back being … himself. The officious busybody we love to hate.
“I think truth, like the burgeoning of a bulb under the soil, however deeply sown, will make its way to the light.”
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 time and place which evokes epic fantasy. Though the foreground of each chronicle is a murder mystery, behind it a nation and a culture (and a touch of romance) are woven into each wondrous tapestry.
June 8, 2011
I was able to get right onto this book, thanks to a spring cold. Ah brother Cadfael (though he will always look like Derek Jacobi, to me, thanks to the wonderful BBC series.) His character fascinates me....Cadfael is a Welshman who took up the sword in the First Crusade and fought his way to Jerusalem and back. He has seen and done it all before deciding, at age 40, to devote the rest of his life to God's work and joins an order of Benedictine monks. While atoning for his sins, he also becomes probably England's first master detective.
Every time he is confronted with a case, it is fascinating to me to see how he works through it. My modern mind screams for lab tests and finger print analysis...he does his detecting without the aid of a forensic pathologist. He figures it out through observation and the use of his senses- astonishing.
And his garden...oh I would love to walk through it some day, or to have 1/10 of the knowledge he does of plants and herbs.
The character fascinates me the most in these books- the plots are secondary.
Every time he is confronted with a case, it is fascinating to me to see how he works through it. My modern mind screams for lab tests and finger print analysis...he does his detecting without the aid of a forensic pathologist. He figures it out through observation and the use of his senses- astonishing.
And his garden...oh I would love to walk through it some day, or to have 1/10 of the knowledge he does of plants and herbs.
The character fascinates me the most in these books- the plots are secondary.
July 13, 2024
This 17th in the Brother Cadfael historical mystery series concerns the body of a young woman found buried in a newly tilled field known as Potter's Field, recently given to the Benedictine abbey in a land exchange with an Augustinian abbey. The civil authority and the monks, meaning Sheriff H ugh and Cadfael, must investigate to learn her identity and how she came to her death.
For a long time until recently, the field was the home of a potter, Ruald and his wife Generys. Ruald has just become a monk in the monastery, and his wife is no longer in the area, abandoned by her husband's decision, not free to marry again, and not happy about her situation. Also, involved is a novice monk, Sulien Blount, whose family owned the land until his father donated it to the Augustinian abbey, who comes to report to Abbot Radulfus from his assignment at Ramsey Abbey to report of its devastation by Geoffrey de Mandeville who is rebelling against King Stephen, apparently aiding Queen Maud in her succession battle with King Stephen.
The new Brothers Ruald and Sulien become key figures and suspects in the issue of how the woman came to her death. But just as interesting is how both became brothers in the first place and the impact on their families. Ruald is free to leave his wife to enter the monastery, but she cannot remarry so is left abandoned. And this is condoned by the Church since God has called Ruald. As with the heresy discussion in the previous Cadfael story, the Heretic’s Apprentice, the issue brings up an interesting Church doctrinal concept, something not that exciting but interesting to me and makes for a nice change of pace aspect here.
By the 17th volume in a series, I am looking for a nice change of pace. I don’t think this is a good series book for an early Cadfael read as the mystery and depth of bad acts are not so gripping as to invite more return reads. But for a reader who already knows the setting and the characters, a high level of excitement is not as necessary as the appreciation that comes from seeing these known and esteemed characters adapt and deal with new problems.
That’s what I got here. I enjoyed watching Cadfael, Sheriff Hugh and Brother Radalus deal with this situation. I also thought that the new characters, especially Brother Sulien, were well-delineated and had interesting and pleasing traits and motivations. And I always enjoy it when events in the Queen Maud and King Stephen rivalry take place. Additionally, the mystery’s denouement was well-crafted and had a very rewarding and sensible resolution. This was a pleasing and very solid Cadfael that I rate as 4 stars.
For a long time until recently, the field was the home of a potter, Ruald and his wife Generys. Ruald has just become a monk in the monastery, and his wife is no longer in the area, abandoned by her husband's decision, not free to marry again, and not happy about her situation. Also, involved is a novice monk, Sulien Blount, whose family owned the land until his father donated it to the Augustinian abbey, who comes to report to Abbot Radulfus from his assignment at Ramsey Abbey to report of its devastation by Geoffrey de Mandeville who is rebelling against King Stephen, apparently aiding Queen Maud in her succession battle with King Stephen.
The new Brothers Ruald and Sulien become key figures and suspects in the issue of how the woman came to her death. But just as interesting is how both became brothers in the first place and the impact on their families. Ruald is free to leave his wife to enter the monastery, but she cannot remarry so is left abandoned. And this is condoned by the Church since God has called Ruald. As with the heresy discussion in the previous Cadfael story, the Heretic’s Apprentice, the issue brings up an interesting Church doctrinal concept, something not that exciting but interesting to me and makes for a nice change of pace aspect here.
By the 17th volume in a series, I am looking for a nice change of pace. I don’t think this is a good series book for an early Cadfael read as the mystery and depth of bad acts are not so gripping as to invite more return reads. But for a reader who already knows the setting and the characters, a high level of excitement is not as necessary as the appreciation that comes from seeing these known and esteemed characters adapt and deal with new problems.
That’s what I got here. I enjoyed watching Cadfael, Sheriff Hugh and Brother Radalus deal with this situation. I also thought that the new characters, especially Brother Sulien, were well-delineated and had interesting and pleasing traits and motivations. And I always enjoy it when events in the Queen Maud and King Stephen rivalry take place. Additionally, the mystery’s denouement was well-crafted and had a very rewarding and sensible resolution. This was a pleasing and very solid Cadfael that I rate as 4 stars.
May 23, 2017
First of all, this was an audio book and the reader, Stephen Thorne, was absolutely excellent. (If you watch any Britcoms on PBS or remember the movie The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (1979), you've seen him act.) Every character voice was distinct, with a unique personality. His women's voices sounded like women. He didn't just read the book, he performed it. That alone rated a 5-star review.
The setting in Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael novels--12th century England--is always meticulously depicted and this book is no exception. As a reader, you feel like you're there. I love spending time in this world. As for the plot of this book, I did guess part of the outcome fairly early on, but there were enough twists to keep me interested (not to mention the great narrator).
I definitely recommend this novel, in print or audio, though, if you can find the recording with Stephen Thorne as narrator, treat yourself and listen to it.
The setting in Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael novels--12th century England--is always meticulously depicted and this book is no exception. As a reader, you feel like you're there. I love spending time in this world. As for the plot of this book, I did guess part of the outcome fairly early on, but there were enough twists to keep me interested (not to mention the great narrator).
I definitely recommend this novel, in print or audio, though, if you can find the recording with Stephen Thorne as narrator, treat yourself and listen to it.
August 16, 2010
If you like historical mysteries set in medieval times, you'll enjoy these books - they're really very good.
January 17, 2020
Very complex, engaging, and with sharp characterization.
April 26, 2019
A body turns up in a field that has been donated to the abbey, and Brother Cadfael becomes part of the group determined to find out who this woman is as well as who killed her. She has been dead a year or more, so it is impossible to recognize who it is. Some wonder if it might be the woman who lived there, left behind by her husband who decided he was called to become a monk, although it has been heard on good authority that she left with another man over a year ago.
There are various suspects, red herrings and things to sort out before, well read the book to see if you find out both who it is and how she died.
There are various suspects, red herrings and things to sort out before, well read the book to see if you find out both who it is and how she died.
May 6, 2012
Enjoyable. My favourite quotations from this book: "We live as candles in the breath of God." (p. 182) "...My soul has benefited from his prayers. But pain is here in the body, and has a very loud voice. Sometimes I could not hear my own voice say Amen! for the demon howling." (p. 238) " 'It may well be,' said Cadfael, 'that our justice sees as in a mirror image, left where right should be, evil reflected back as good, good as evil, your angel as her devil. But God's justice, if it makes no haste, makes no mistakes.' "
July 17, 2022
Around The World of Crime and Mystery
A lovely romance, really.
Cast - 3 stars: Cadfael is almost invisible. Potter Ruald has oddly left his beautiful wife, Generys, and joined the Abbey. Novice Sulien Blount suddenly and suspiciously appears with news of war. Travelers weave in and out of story. Solid cast but not memorable.
Atmosphere - 2: I was confused about the warring factions. But the cast preparing for changes of weather, of 'careers', of finding a place in the world of 12th Century England, was interesting. I never got a sense of what interiors looked like, or of building exteriors, or of clothing.
Crime- 4: What IS the crime? There are surprises! Huge red herrings!
Investigation - 3: Cadfael to the rescue: his role is small but his suspicions right on target.
Resolution - 5: Beautiful. "But God's justice, if it makes no haste, makes no mistake, " is a great final line.
Summary - 3.4, or 3 stars. If you enjoy honest romance and the heartaches thereof, this one's for you. One of my favorite stories in this series flawed by a lack of atmosphere.
A lovely romance, really.
Cast - 3 stars: Cadfael is almost invisible. Potter Ruald has oddly left his beautiful wife, Generys, and joined the Abbey. Novice Sulien Blount suddenly and suspiciously appears with news of war. Travelers weave in and out of story. Solid cast but not memorable.
Atmosphere - 2: I was confused about the warring factions. But the cast preparing for changes of weather, of 'careers', of finding a place in the world of 12th Century England, was interesting. I never got a sense of what interiors looked like, or of building exteriors, or of clothing.
Crime- 4: What IS the crime? There are surprises! Huge red herrings!
Investigation - 3: Cadfael to the rescue: his role is small but his suspicions right on target.
Resolution - 5: Beautiful. "But God's justice, if it makes no haste, makes no mistake, " is a great final line.
Summary - 3.4, or 3 stars. If you enjoy honest romance and the heartaches thereof, this one's for you. One of my favorite stories in this series flawed by a lack of atmosphere.
maybe
May 15, 2022In Book Order and availability:
*A Morbid Taste for Bones 3 stars
*One Corpse Too Many 5 stars
*Monk's Hood 4 stars
*St. Peter's Fair 4 stars
*The Leper of St. Giles 5 stars
*The Virgin in the Ice 3 stars
*The Sanctuary Sparrow 4 stars
*The Devil's Novice TBR
*Dead Man's Ransom TBR
*The Pilgrim of Hate
*An Excellent Mystery TBR
*The Raven in the Foregate (12)
*The Rose Rent
*The Hermit of Eyton Forest
*The Confession of Brother Haluin
*The Heretic's Apprentice (16)
*A Morbid Taste for Bones 3 stars
*One Corpse Too Many 5 stars
*Monk's Hood 4 stars
*St. Peter's Fair 4 stars
*The Leper of St. Giles 5 stars
*The Virgin in the Ice 3 stars
*The Sanctuary Sparrow 4 stars
*The Devil's Novice TBR
*Dead Man's Ransom TBR
*The Pilgrim of Hate
*An Excellent Mystery TBR
*The Raven in the Foregate (12)
*The Rose Rent
*The Hermit of Eyton Forest
*The Confession of Brother Haluin
*The Heretic's Apprentice (16)
July 9, 2021
The Cadfael historical mystery series by Ellis Peters is one of my favorites. The Potter's Field is the 17th book in the series and the 15th I've enjoyed thus far. Six more to go... Always happy to finish a series but sad to leave a great character.
Two stories taking place in this 17th edition. The monastery, at Shrewsbury, where Cadfael lives and works at trades one field for another with another monastery (with this trade, each gain fields that are closer to the individual monasteries). While they begin an initial plowing of the field, a corpse is discovered buried in the field (more bones than body). It is a woman but they have no way of identifying it. This becomes the main story; discovering who the body is and who might have been involved in 'murdering'. The second story involved the Sheriff Hugh Beringar, who must build up an armed force to help King Stephen in a battle against one of his enemies, while still trying to investigate the body.
This makes for one of the more interesting of the Cadfael stories; I mean they are all entertaining, but this one seemed more to the point and actually kind of straight-forward if that makes any sense. The mystery of who the body was made for a very interesting premise, especially as the story progressed and more possibilities arose. I thought I had it figured out and in some ways have some correct ideas but Ellis Peters managed to throw a neat little twist that made the ending even more satisfying.
Cadfael is always a wonderful character, down to earth, sensible, thoughtful and perceptive. Hugh Beringar is a great partner to Cadfael, the two feed off each other nicely. There are other good characters, Abbot Radulfus, who runs the monastery, plays a nice role in this story; a sympathetic, understanding sounding board for Cadfael. The new characters, Brother Ruald, the ex potter who had owned the field and is an apprentice monk trying to find himself; Sulien Blount, another apprentice monk, escaped from the battlefield, returned to Shrewsbury, who plays a key role in discovering the identity and possibly the murderer of the body. Even though they play minor roles, Hugh's lovely wife Aline and their precocious son and Cadfael's godson, provide nice moments in the story.
The story progressed nicely, although there were moments when I wished they wouldn't cover old ground and would get to the point, but all in all, I enjoyed the mystery, the characters, the historical aspect and, ultimately, the satisfying conclusion. (4.5 stars)
Two stories taking place in this 17th edition. The monastery, at Shrewsbury, where Cadfael lives and works at trades one field for another with another monastery (with this trade, each gain fields that are closer to the individual monasteries). While they begin an initial plowing of the field, a corpse is discovered buried in the field (more bones than body). It is a woman but they have no way of identifying it. This becomes the main story; discovering who the body is and who might have been involved in 'murdering'. The second story involved the Sheriff Hugh Beringar, who must build up an armed force to help King Stephen in a battle against one of his enemies, while still trying to investigate the body.
This makes for one of the more interesting of the Cadfael stories; I mean they are all entertaining, but this one seemed more to the point and actually kind of straight-forward if that makes any sense. The mystery of who the body was made for a very interesting premise, especially as the story progressed and more possibilities arose. I thought I had it figured out and in some ways have some correct ideas but Ellis Peters managed to throw a neat little twist that made the ending even more satisfying.
Cadfael is always a wonderful character, down to earth, sensible, thoughtful and perceptive. Hugh Beringar is a great partner to Cadfael, the two feed off each other nicely. There are other good characters, Abbot Radulfus, who runs the monastery, plays a nice role in this story; a sympathetic, understanding sounding board for Cadfael. The new characters, Brother Ruald, the ex potter who had owned the field and is an apprentice monk trying to find himself; Sulien Blount, another apprentice monk, escaped from the battlefield, returned to Shrewsbury, who plays a key role in discovering the identity and possibly the murderer of the body. Even though they play minor roles, Hugh's lovely wife Aline and their precocious son and Cadfael's godson, provide nice moments in the story.
The story progressed nicely, although there were moments when I wished they wouldn't cover old ground and would get to the point, but all in all, I enjoyed the mystery, the characters, the historical aspect and, ultimately, the satisfying conclusion. (4.5 stars)
September 22, 2025
In my continuing march through the Cadfael mysteries I re-read this and enjoyed it more than the first time around.
The story was mangled a bit for TV consumption and the original tale as written is more satisfying if a bit too complex to fit into the frame of an hour long TV program.
All three main players, Cadfael, Abbot Radolfus and Hugh Berringer are estimable men and its a pleasure to see how the three struggle with unknotting the tangled web that is unearthed in The Potter's field.
This is another great installment in the series and its a pleasure to once again spend time in the England of King Stephen and the Emporess Maude.
The story was mangled a bit for TV consumption and the original tale as written is more satisfying if a bit too complex to fit into the frame of an hour long TV program.
All three main players, Cadfael, Abbot Radolfus and Hugh Berringer are estimable men and its a pleasure to see how the three struggle with unknotting the tangled web that is unearthed in The Potter's field.
This is another great installment in the series and its a pleasure to once again spend time in the England of King Stephen and the Emporess Maude.
April 3, 2019
Brother Cadfael mysteries are a true pleasure, more than simple amusements, and adding Derek Jacobi's rich, adept narration makes this an extra special treat. I like a "whodunnit" that makes me guess "whodunnit," and while I had my suspicions about the murderer, I had no idea as to how or why until the last pages: to me, a perfect mystery. Ellis Peters can write a setting that is sharp and strong as a steel blade; Brother Cadfael mysteries are intelligent, historically accurate, believable and definitely take you back in time.
October 12, 2020
I've said it before, some of these Cadfael stories are wonderful and memorable, others are more easily forgotten. Mostly the later ones, I find.
The Potter's Field is also a solid, well-told tale, the middle ages are alive and kicking. The case, an unidentifiable female body hastily buried and then uncovered "accidentally" - not really groundbreaking (no pun intended).
Plus of course the endless fight for kingship. Sometimes I wonder what those nobles and kings would say about today's powers and governments?
Only 3 more chronicles to go. The end is nigh ...
The Potter's Field is also a solid, well-told tale, the middle ages are alive and kicking. The case, an unidentifiable female body hastily buried and then uncovered "accidentally" - not really groundbreaking (no pun intended).
Plus of course the endless fight for kingship. Sometimes I wonder what those nobles and kings would say about today's powers and governments?
Only 3 more chronicles to go. The end is nigh ...
July 28, 2016
Happy re-read of an old favourite.
April 28, 2025
Mentre i confratelli cominciano a dissodare il campo detto "del vasaio" appena donato all'Abbazia di Shrewsbury (The Potter Field è il titolo originale del romanzo), vengono ritrovate le ossa di una donna dai capelli bruni morta ormai da qualche anno. Il campo apparteneva a un uomo che ha deciso di farsi monaco e ha lasciato la moglie, che qualche mese dopo è sparita misteriosamente; molti sussurrano che sia partita con il suo amante. Si teme che la morta possa essere proprio lei, ma un giovane fratello proveniente da un'altra abbazia e che è figlio del successivo proprietario del campo del vasaio, dice di aver avuto sue notizie molto recenti, e lo prova mostrando un anellino appartenuto alla donna. Le indagini si spostano verso dei mercanti itineranti che hanno dormito nel rifugio che è nel campo, tra cui spiccava una donna bruna, che l'anno successivo non è più tornata. La missione di fratello Cadfael del titolo è di scoprire che fine ha fatto questa donna, se è davvero lei la donna morta e sepolta nel campo o se si deve cercare altrove una donna scomparsa. Comunque Fratello Cadfael e il campo del vasaio sarebbe stato un titolo più idoneo, secondo me.
October 5, 2022
In this one, the death that seemed to be a murder is not a murder. Good story!
November 29, 2020
Review to come.
September 12, 2022
The Potter’s Field is another great and convoluted mystery as only Edith Pargeter—Ellis Peters—could tell! And after seventeen Brother Cadfael novels, it comes as no surprise that Ms. Pargeter often constructed her stories with strong female characters—women such as Richildis, Cadfael’s lost great love; Aline Siward, Hugh Beringar’s beautiful wife, Sister Avice of Thornbury, Iveta de Massard, and Judith Perle, to mention a few—and this one is no different. Women who are both strong and courageous. Even in death, two of her women presented unmatched strength of spirits, namely Sister Hilaria, the virgin in the ice in the book of the same name, and even the beloved saint of Shrewsbury, Saint Winifred. How often have these simple women outshone even the best of men in the series? Not often.
When the body of an unknown woman is discovered buried at the edge of a field, Brother Cadfael suffers not just from too many possible suspects, but also from a victim who refuses to stay dead once she is tentatively identified! And then there is the further mystery of the young novice Sulient Blount, recently returned home as a refugee from the civil war. It was his family’s former grounds upon which the body was found. What has he to contribute to the mystery, if anything… or could he be the murderer? Even after all his clever deductions and conversations with his great friend Sheriff Hugh Beringar or Father Abbot Radulfus, it will take a woman of character and strength to bring this murder mystery to its resolution, and not our beloved sleuth. And what an ending!
With only three novels left in the series, I don’t look forward to the end. These beloved mysteries have been with me my entire adult life, and I love them. It will be like the passing of a dear friend, but one, fortunately, I can visit as often as I like!
When the body of an unknown woman is discovered buried at the edge of a field, Brother Cadfael suffers not just from too many possible suspects, but also from a victim who refuses to stay dead once she is tentatively identified! And then there is the further mystery of the young novice Sulient Blount, recently returned home as a refugee from the civil war. It was his family’s former grounds upon which the body was found. What has he to contribute to the mystery, if anything… or could he be the murderer? Even after all his clever deductions and conversations with his great friend Sheriff Hugh Beringar or Father Abbot Radulfus, it will take a woman of character and strength to bring this murder mystery to its resolution, and not our beloved sleuth. And what an ending!
With only three novels left in the series, I don’t look forward to the end. These beloved mysteries have been with me my entire adult life, and I love them. It will be like the passing of a dear friend, but one, fortunately, I can visit as often as I like!
February 20, 2024
I started reading the book from my library, then listened to the abridged audiobook with Sir Derek Jacobi narrating. I don’t like abridged books, but it was the only audiobook I could get, and he of course was Cadfael when I first saw the dramatization on PBS 30+ years ago!
This book opens in late August; the abbey has acquired the title land, which just happened to be held by a potter (hence the name), who left his wife of 15 years to enter the monastery as a monk. The parting was not easy, as the wife neither accepted or blessed her husband’s vocation. Supposedly, she had simply disappeared, leaving with a lover - or so she told her husband. When the ploughing begins at the field, a skeleton with long flowing hair turns up. Cadfael and Sheriff Hugh Beringar must determine who the woman was, how she died, and who buried her in unhallowed ground, with no last rites. They suspect murder, but can’t see any obvious signs; why else would she be consigned to a secret unmarked grave?
I read this series years ago after watching the tv version, but don’t remember much about the whodunnits - this one was a surprise at the end! I had begun to wonder who was left after Cadfael and Hugh suspected and cleared a couple suspects. No spoilers, but it was a twist ending and well done. It has been a treat revisiting this lovely series after so many years; Ellis Peters was my introduction to historical mysteries, and I’ve enjoyed them ever since.
This book opens in late August; the abbey has acquired the title land, which just happened to be held by a potter (hence the name), who left his wife of 15 years to enter the monastery as a monk. The parting was not easy, as the wife neither accepted or blessed her husband’s vocation. Supposedly, she had simply disappeared, leaving with a lover - or so she told her husband. When the ploughing begins at the field, a skeleton with long flowing hair turns up. Cadfael and Sheriff Hugh Beringar must determine who the woman was, how she died, and who buried her in unhallowed ground, with no last rites. They suspect murder, but can’t see any obvious signs; why else would she be consigned to a secret unmarked grave?
I read this series years ago after watching the tv version, but don’t remember much about the whodunnits - this one was a surprise at the end! I had begun to wonder who was left after Cadfael and Hugh suspected and cleared a couple suspects. No spoilers, but it was a twist ending and well done. It has been a treat revisiting this lovely series after so many years; Ellis Peters was my introduction to historical mysteries, and I’ve enjoyed them ever since.
January 20, 2023
I do love Brother Cadfael mysteries. So beautifully written novels.
February 18, 2024
This was a 3.5 star read for me. For some reason I just wasn't so interested in this one, as I have been with others.
The body of a buried woman was discovered in a field, recently acquired by the monks. I say body, but really it was just her bones, and so there was no way of identifying her. It seems that a potter and his wife had been the most recent inhabitants, but not for over year had it been, only tramps and beggars since the potter left. The potter had gone into the church as a monk, and no one knew when his wife had left. The body found in the field needed burying in hallowed ground, but a name was wanted. The man who had owned the field had recently died in the war fighting for Stephen, hence the field being given in return for a field already own by the monks.
Cadfael played some part in this, as did Hugh Beringar, but maybe not as much as usual. Quite a mystery though
The body of a buried woman was discovered in a field, recently acquired by the monks. I say body, but really it was just her bones, and so there was no way of identifying her. It seems that a potter and his wife had been the most recent inhabitants, but not for over year had it been, only tramps and beggars since the potter left. The potter had gone into the church as a monk, and no one knew when his wife had left. The body found in the field needed burying in hallowed ground, but a name was wanted. The man who had owned the field had recently died in the war fighting for Stephen, hence the field being given in return for a field already own by the monks.
Cadfael played some part in this, as did Hugh Beringar, but maybe not as much as usual. Quite a mystery though
December 20, 2024
Prior Robert:Regina George::Brother Jerome:Gretchen Wieners.
Abridged mysteries might be one of humanity’s worst ideas. It’s really a shame the full-length audiobooks for the last five books in this series are unavailable on every platform. These are a real let down after the fairly consistent first fifteen Cadfael capers. I also fear that Brother Mark has, inexcusably, landed on the cutting room floor as these were abridged. Pity for us all, really.
Abridged mysteries might be one of humanity’s worst ideas. It’s really a shame the full-length audiobooks for the last five books in this series are unavailable on every platform. These are a real let down after the fairly consistent first fifteen Cadfael capers. I also fear that Brother Mark has, inexcusably, landed on the cutting room floor as these were abridged. Pity for us all, really.
November 23, 2017
The monks begin to dig up a newly acquired field and find more than they expected.....a woman's body not long buried, thought to be that of the wife of their newest monk thought to have run away with another man. Another wonderful story from this amazing woman, transporting us back to the good old days of 12th Century England!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 302 reviews