The Devil's Novice: The Eighth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael [Mass Market Paperback]

Ellis Peters (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1997 | Series: Brother Cadfael Mysteries (Book 8)

In the autumn of 1140 the Benedictine monastery at Shrewsbury finds its new novice Meriet Aspley a bit disturbing. The younger son of a prominent family, Meriet is meek and biddable by day, but his sleep is rife with nightmares so violent that they earn him the name of "Devil's Novice". Shunned by the other monks, Aspley attracts the concern of Brother Cadfael. Then a body appears, that of a young priest last seen at the Aspley estate. Can Meriet be involved in the death? As events take a sinister turn, it falls to Brother Cadfael to detect the truth.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Soothing, but no shortage of mayhem.' OBSERVER --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Ellis Peters is one of the pseudonyms of Edith Pargeter who wrote several books under her own name and also Peter Benedict, Jolyon Carr and John Redfern. She was the recipient of the Crime Writers Association and the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award. She died in 1995. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Press (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446405159
• ISBN-13: 978-0446405157
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.8 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #241,917 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dreams of murder, February 11, 2006

By 

Beverley Strong (Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Devil's Novice: The Eighth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael (Mass Market Paperback)

When Meriet, a quiet, secretive young man is brought to the Abbey of St.Peter and St.Paul by his father, to be accepted as a novice monk, Brother Cadfael is immediately wary of his true vocation as he is almost too keen to take vows and to renounce the outside world at an age where he has had no experience of life, except as a youth in a privileged world of the minor nobility. He disturbs all the residents of the Abbey with his screaming nightmares so is taken to serve under the guidance of Brother Mark, at the Leprosarium of St. Giles. While helping the patients gather firewood in the nearby forest, he discovers the burned body of a murdered cleric who had recently been an overnight guest at his father's manor, and who had been declared missing for a short time. Meriet's father has never had any time for him as his elder brother Nigel was the apple of his parent's eyes and could do no wrong. The mystery evolves with Cadfael, as usual, methodically sifting through red herrings and true clues, with the help of his friend, Deputy Sherriff, Hugh Beringar. It's another fine Cadfael story, linked very closely with the political history and unrest of the day.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Two for one special -- history and mystery, February 12, 2006

By 

Joseph Kaiser Canner (North Africa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Devil's Novice: The Eighth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael (Mass Market Paperback)

This is my second foray into the Brother Cadfael Mystery series and this book did nothing to dampen my initial enthusiasm for the series. Most of the comments from my previous review (see The Leper of Saint Giles) apply here as well. In particular, I enjoyed the mix of romance and mystery. Once again, this book delves into themes of unrequited love and also explores the mystery of feminine allure (even among the celibate).

Brother Cadfael is a uniquely endearing character, with his mix of gentleness, worldly wisdom, and competence. This book also provided my first introduction to Hugh Beringar, sheriff Shrewsbury. He and Cadfael join together their several talents to make an unbeatable team.

My only complaint is that this book takes a little while to get into, as it plows through the political and religious background necessary to understanding the plot. All in all, though, it is worth, as the reader will end up both entertained by the story and educated by the history.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More of a whydunnit than a whodunnit, July 10, 2002

By 

Steve Benner "Stonegnome" (Lancaster, UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Devil's Novice: The Eighth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael (Mass Market Paperback)

The big mystery throughout this eighth of Ellis Peters' Chronicles of Brother Cadfael is not really who, in the depths of the Salop countryside one day in the late summer of the year of Our Lord 1140, committed murder most foul upon the person of Peter Clemence, cleric to Bishop Henry of Bois - but why! And also just what the connection might be between the unfortunate demise of a harmless cleric - seemingly not even relieved of his valuables - and the latest candidate to be accepted into the noviciate of Shrewsbury's abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, the nineteen-year-old, Meriet Aspley. For it is obvious, from the very opening of this book, to both reader and Brother Cadfael alike, that there is some dark secret haunting the latest entrant to the abbey. There is also little doubt that the sad fate of Peter Clemence has some bearing upon it. Equally obvious is that the mediaeval sleuth will need to have not only his wits but also all of his tact about him too, if he is to winkle out the truth behind matters here, both of the circumstances of the cleric's death and of young Meriet Aspley's sudden-found yearning for life within the cloister.

In her usual manner, Ellis Peters drip-feeds her hero and her readers alike with tantalising but measured trickles of information, permitting both to proceed but piecemeal (and at about the same pace as each other) towards the final revelation and the story's sudden resolution. Along the way, we are treated to the author's characteristically over-glamorised view of Mediaeval English life, with her entirely comforting (and rather touching) view of the honest goodness of the (Saxon) poor, as well as the essentially corrupt nature of those who would aspire to power (usually those overbearing Normans, of course).

In common with others of this series, this book presents a mix of romance and murder mystery, all set against a back-drop of political intrigue. In essence, then, we have here another classic from the Cadfael mould - an engaging read that taxes neither imagination nor credulity over much and which provides some fascinating glimpses of how things might have been in twelfth century Salop. It can be recommended to both established Cadfael fans and newcomers alike.