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Brothers of Gwynedd #2
The Dragon at Noonday
1st edition
340 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1976
About the author
Edith Pargeter
48 books198 followersaka Peter Benedict, Jolyon Carr, Ellis Peters (later editions of her work are sometimes published under this pseudonym), and John Redfern
West Midlands Literary Heritage website biography
Novelist. Born September 1913 at Horsehay, Shropshire. Her father was a clerk at a local ironworks. Edith attended Dawley Church of England School and the Coalbrookdale High School for Girls. Through her mother, she grew to love the history and countryside of Shropshire, her home for all of her life.
Before World War II she worked as a chemist's assistant at Dawley. During this time she started writing seriously for publication while gathering useful information on medicines that she would draw upon later when tackling crime stories. Her first published novel was Hortensius, friend of Nero (1936), a rather dry tale of martyrdom that was not a great success but she persevered and The city lies foursquare (1939) was much more warmly received.
During the war she worked in an administrative role with the Women's Royal Navy Service in Liverpool, a relatively brief period away from Shropshire, and for her devotion to duty she received the British Empire Medal. Many more novels appeared at this time, including Ordinary people (1941) and She goes to war (1942), the latter based on her own wartime experiences. The eighth champion of Christendom appeared in 1945 and from now on she was able to devote all her time to writing. She was particularly proud of her Heaven tree trilogy, which appeared between 1961 and 1963, which had as a backdrop the English Welsh borderlands in the twelfth century.
It was not until 1951 that she tackled a mystery story with Fallen into the pit, the first appearance of Sergeant George Felse as the investigating police officer. Her other great character, and the one for which the author will continue to be known the world over, Brother Cadfael, was to follow many years later. The first appearance of this monk at Shrewsbury Abbey was in A morbid taste for bones (1977) and he mixed his herbs and unravelled mysteries in this atmospheric setting for a further nineteen novels. This kept the author very busy for the remaining 18 years of her life, to the virtual exclusion of all other work.
The name "Ellis Peters" was adopted by Edith Pargeter to clearly mark a division between her mystery stories and her other work. Her brother was Ellis and Petra was a friend from Czechoslovakia. A frequent visitor to the country, Edith Pargeter had begun her association and deep interest in their culture after meeting Czechoslovakian soldiers during the war. This was to lead to her learning the language translating several books into English.
She won awards for her writing from both the British Crime Writers Association and the Mystery Writers of America. She was also awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire), an honorary Masters Degree from Birmingham University and the Gold Medal of the Czechoslovak Society for Foreign Relations. There is a memorial to her in Shrewsbury Abbey.
After her death in October 1995, The Times published a full obituary that declared that here was "a deeply sensitive and perceptive woman....an intensely private and modest person " whose writing was "direct, even a little stilted, matching a self-contained personality".
West Midlands Literary Heritage website biography
Novelist. Born September 1913 at Horsehay, Shropshire. Her father was a clerk at a local ironworks. Edith attended Dawley Church of England School and the Coalbrookdale High School for Girls. Through her mother, she grew to love the history and countryside of Shropshire, her home for all of her life.
Before World War II she worked as a chemist's assistant at Dawley. During this time she started writing seriously for publication while gathering useful information on medicines that she would draw upon later when tackling crime stories. Her first published novel was Hortensius, friend of Nero (1936), a rather dry tale of martyrdom that was not a great success but she persevered and The city lies foursquare (1939) was much more warmly received.
During the war she worked in an administrative role with the Women's Royal Navy Service in Liverpool, a relatively brief period away from Shropshire, and for her devotion to duty she received the British Empire Medal. Many more novels appeared at this time, including Ordinary people (1941) and She goes to war (1942), the latter based on her own wartime experiences. The eighth champion of Christendom appeared in 1945 and from now on she was able to devote all her time to writing. She was particularly proud of her Heaven tree trilogy, which appeared between 1961 and 1963, which had as a backdrop the English Welsh borderlands in the twelfth century.
It was not until 1951 that she tackled a mystery story with Fallen into the pit, the first appearance of Sergeant George Felse as the investigating police officer. Her other great character, and the one for which the author will continue to be known the world over, Brother Cadfael, was to follow many years later. The first appearance of this monk at Shrewsbury Abbey was in A morbid taste for bones (1977) and he mixed his herbs and unravelled mysteries in this atmospheric setting for a further nineteen novels. This kept the author very busy for the remaining 18 years of her life, to the virtual exclusion of all other work.
The name "Ellis Peters" was adopted by Edith Pargeter to clearly mark a division between her mystery stories and her other work. Her brother was Ellis and Petra was a friend from Czechoslovakia. A frequent visitor to the country, Edith Pargeter had begun her association and deep interest in their culture after meeting Czechoslovakian soldiers during the war. This was to lead to her learning the language translating several books into English.
She won awards for her writing from both the British Crime Writers Association and the Mystery Writers of America. She was also awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire), an honorary Masters Degree from Birmingham University and the Gold Medal of the Czechoslovak Society for Foreign Relations. There is a memorial to her in Shrewsbury Abbey.
After her death in October 1995, The Times published a full obituary that declared that here was "a deeply sensitive and perceptive woman....an intensely private and modest person " whose writing was "direct, even a little stilted, matching a self-contained personality".
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 27, 2020
Not always easy to understand the political implications, but the personal stories are described very well.
August 24, 2020
I finish these novels feeling exhausted from the adventure. I feel like I’ve been on horseback for days traveling just like Sampson and Llewelyn, and in this particular book like Prince Edward. Loyalties shift, borders change, but finally The Prince of Wales is made as is his domain- and that’s not a spoiler, since it is history after all!
June 29, 2025
E' il 2° capitolo della trilogia gallese di Edith Pargeter, alias Ellis Peters. Se amate rivivere le gesta di grandi personaggi e leggere la storia come se fosse un romanzo, immergendovi nelle atmosfere del passato, fate vostra questa trilogia.
June 5, 2023
A very quick delightful historical read. Historical fiction is my favourite reading genre and I have always enjoyed reading about the Welsh historical era .
I’ve always been fascinated about Llewelyn, Prince of Wales and this book gives a vivid and intriguing insight into his life as he forged an ally with the Earl of Leicester .
I’ve always been fascinated about Llewelyn, Prince of Wales and this book gives a vivid and intriguing insight into his life as he forged an ally with the Earl of Leicester .
October 14, 2016
Those Pesky Welsh princes are up to mischief in the 13th Century again. Llewellyn has imprisoned two brothers whilst the other emigrates to England to avoid him....................... and he is the good guy.
April 12, 2023
Dragon at Noonday, the sequel to Sunrise in the West, follows Llewellyn ap Gruffydd, leader of the Welsh, during a long period of unrest in England during the reign of Henry III, which allowed him to establish a measure of unity and strength to the Wales. In this story the author regards Llewellyn and Simon de Montfort , 6th Earl of Leicester, as two great leaders of the day, and portrays them sympathetically as allies. It is clear their days are numbered and by the end of the book Llewellyn no longer commands the loyalty of his brothers and Simon de Montfort is defeated and killed at the battle of Evesham. Samson continues to work steadfastly for Llewelyn and it is his story which provides the romance of the novel. While it is true the reforms for which Simon de Monfort strove foreshadowed the growth parliamentary government in Britain, he is in fact no angel; among other things he expelled Jews from Leicester and his party massacred Jews in London, Winchester, and elsewhere. His defeat by Edward I, the ultimate victor in this long struggle, however, led not to greater religious tolerance as Edward expelled the Jews from the entire country in 1290. Such were the times and no novelist can change that.
January 16, 2021
I like Edith Pargeter's medieval worlds and I enjoy spending time in them, so I didn't mind that this book wasn't as good as the first one in the series. Most of the action is in England rather than Wales this time, and the Welsh hero-protagonist Prince Llewellyn spends most of the book watching from the sidelines while the narrator-protagonist Samson gets caught up in English civil war alongside a new figure of towering historical legend: Earl Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester.
What made this book harder to get into was how detailed the politics became. It was almost a who's-who of English politics in the 1260's, which seems fun to reminisce about if you'd been there or knew the people involved, but I wasn't and I didn't. But I love the descriptions of castles and landscapes and campaigns and spying and day-to-day running of a medieval kingdom. The romantic sub-plot, carried through from the first book, is more sizzling than ever. And everyone speaks just so, as though they mean it, as though words were made to be fitting and beautiful and apt to the occasion, no matter how humble. I'll read more by her, for sure.
What made this book harder to get into was how detailed the politics became. It was almost a who's-who of English politics in the 1260's, which seems fun to reminisce about if you'd been there or knew the people involved, but I wasn't and I didn't. But I love the descriptions of castles and landscapes and campaigns and spying and day-to-day running of a medieval kingdom. The romantic sub-plot, carried through from the first book, is more sizzling than ever. And everyone speaks just so, as though they mean it, as though words were made to be fitting and beautiful and apt to the occasion, no matter how humble. I'll read more by her, for sure.
July 25, 2021
Ohhh, I tired so of the war (Royalists vs. Parliamentarians). But worse was the deceit, treachery, double-dealing, fickle and faithless, castle-grubbing aristocracy. Of what point was all the paper-maneuvering treaties, truces, faux-allegiances, sworn fealties broken within hours???? In short, it was a very depressing depiction of the times and I have no reason to doubt its authenticity. How did anything resembling a cohesive government ever arise? I guess I'll have to read the next book, but I'm taking a break.
April 10, 2024
I guess I deserve this for jumping in at book two of a four book series - I picked up no. 2 and 4 from a box of freebies because I recognised the author's name and I'd enjoyed the Brother Cadfael novels years ago. Thrown in the deep end, English & Welsh history, lots of characters, lots of places in the landscape, I think you'll need a map and a family tree to follow what's going on. Mostly just went with the flow and enjoyed it as it went, letting the bigger picture lose itself in the background
June 24, 2021
This second book in the quartet centers around two stories - Llywelyn's consolidation of power by unifying nearly all of Wales and the Second Baron's War. Pargeter created a rich mythology of Llywelyn but there's a glaring omission from her characterization of Simon de Montfort who led the rebellion. In history, Montfort expelled Jews from Leicester but this is not mentioned at all in Pargeter's rather glowing portrait of him.
December 15, 2024
The intrapersonal conflict remains as fantastic as ever but a lot of this felt bogged down in battle scenes. I found myself skimming whole sections to avoid them. But serious props to the author for making me emotionally invested in these medieval people because I know how this story will end, I know what happens to Llewelyn, and I’m still begging the printed dead words to change like I can make it different this time, I swear…
May 8, 2022
Further exploration of 13th century English history from a Welsh perspective. The pressure for constitutional change is older than I imagined. The principles of the characters are somewhat idealised, but the story carries them without any problems.
July 5, 2017
If I could have I would have given it 3 1/2. I'm enjoying the series and will keep reading.
July 12, 2018
Very good historical fiction. Great characters and story.
October 15, 2022
I really enjoy historicaly based stories. This series is so well written. Just wish there was a map of the area (medeaval Wales) in the book!
February 7, 2025
The more I read these novels, the more my (very diluted) Welsh blood stirs. And I know what is coming but I wish it to be different.
No 3 in the series beckons
No 3 in the series beckons
November 1, 2025
As a child I absolutely loved this Welsh 13th century historical fiction that was well written for children. One of her best books.
Want to Read
March 6, 2014Still I remember that homecoming we had, when we rode back to Aber from the assembly of all the chieftains of Wales, in the spring of the year of grace, one thousand, two hundred and fifty-eight.
Llewellyn has united all Wales besides one, Griffith ap Gwenwynwyn of Powys, or the English version Griffith de la Pole - "new made and puny, but alive. God forbid we should ask too much of it at birth, but at least we have seen it born."
Llewellyn has united all Wales besides one, Griffith ap Gwenwynwyn of Powys, or the English version Griffith de la Pole - "new made and puny, but alive. God forbid we should ask too much of it at birth, but at least we have seen it born."
September 13, 2009
This series needs to be read consecutively. I suddenly noticed I hadn't acknowledged that I had finished volume 2 and I'm well into volume 3. I know I put the second down, picked up the third and started straight in..
The detail is enthralling, the story proceeds at a lick and EP's touch never wavers in her ability to bring the characters and the events of the time to life.
The detail is enthralling, the story proceeds at a lick and EP's touch never wavers in her ability to bring the characters and the events of the time to life.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews