Hemlock at Vespers: Fifteen Sister Fidelma Mysteries [Paperback]

Peter Tremayne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 9, 2000

Sister Fidelma-an Eognacht princess and sister to the king of Cashel, a religieuse of the Celtic Church and an advocate of the Brehornn court-is one of the most interesting and compelling figures in contemporary mystery fiction. In this collection of short mysteries, Tremayne fills in many of the background details of Fidelma and seventh-century Ireland not found in the novels, and weaves his always-beguiling mix of history and mystery.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Capitalizing on the popularity of his Sister Fidelma novels, Tremayne offers the complete set of Sister Fidelma short stories. These 15 tales feature inimitable and unshakable sleuth Sister Fidelma, a seventh-century Irish nun who also doubles as a distinguished advocate of the law courts of Ireland. Like he does in the book-length mysteries the author uses these short stories to illustrate the unique, often coequal, role played by women in Ireland during this surprisingly enlightened era. The arrangement of the stories is strictly chronological, enabling devoted readers to fill in the voids between the novels. In each story Fidelma displays her usual knack for uncovering timeless, all too human motives as she solves crimes under the ancient Brehon law system in Ireland. A treasure trove of small gems for historical mystery fans. Margaret Flanagan

From Kirkus Reviews

Fifteen more times in these Sister Fidelma stories, Tremayne's Celtic sleuth hits the road and sorts out crime in seventh- century Ireland. Does the peripatetic investigator ever go home? Never, in six published novels; once, in the title story of a collection that takes her from apprenticeship as a Brehon advocate through disillusionment with her House of Blessed Brigid to worldly fame as the King's smart sister. Newcomers to the series (Valley of the Shadow, Mar. 2000) will be fascinated by a utopian presentation of unfamiliar social and religious history. Fans will learn little new about either Fidelma or her Ireland and may groan over repeated descriptive epithetsfrom her urchin grin to strands of her rebellious red hairbut theyll also be amazed by how the short form forces Tremayne to economize on detail and prune subplots. While too many clues are clumsy (``Holy Blood''), marring otherwise clever plotting (``The Horse That Died for Shame''), and too much talk (``Tarnished Halo'') has to compensate for too little character development (``A Canticle for Wulfstan''), the best stories economically evoke Fidelmas world as they illustrate her creators debts to Agatha Christiefor example, in the twisted ends of ``Invitation to a Poisoning'' and ``At the Tent of Holofernes.'' The latter, the best in the collection, dramatizes a complex mesh of betrayals that also catch up the sleuth, exploiting both Fidelma's strengths and vulnerabilities. More predictable than experimental, with the mechanical elements diluting some genuine pleasures. Still, Fidelmas fans will welcome this first-ever collection, many stories of which are appearing here for the first time. -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books (March 9, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312252889
• ISBN-13: 978-0312252885
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #199,187 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Peter Tremayne is the fiction pseudonym of Peter Berresford Ellis, a renowned Celtic scholar who has written over 30 books on the Ancient Celts and the Irish. As Tremayne, he is best known for his stories and novels featuring 7th century Irish religieuse Fidelma of Cashel. He lives in London.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable mystery short story collection, February 17, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hemlock at Vespers: Fifteen Sister Fidelma Mysteries (Paperback)

Though Sister Fidelma has appeared in four novels, she has also starred in fifteen short stories that make up this wonderful anthology, HEMLOCK AT VESPERS. Peter Tremayne places his stories in order of publication date and allows the audience to observe how much the author and the character have matured. Readers learn why Sister Fidelma changes her references to herself, dissociates from a religious community, and how that impacts the seventh century amateur sleuth.

All the stories in this anthology are well written and self-contained as the essence of the main character comes alive each time while retaining a consistent level of excellent storytelling. That enables the audience to understand and empathize with Sister Fidelma. The stories also provide incredible insight into "Dark Ages" Ireland without slowing down the pacing. Mr. Tremayne is one the leaders of the historical mystery whether the plot is full-length novel (see VALLEY OF THE SHADOW) or a short story.

Harriet Klausner

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Mysteries, Good History, August 26, 2000

By 

Maj. Richard L. Centner, Jr., USAR, Ret. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hemlock at Vespers: Fifteen Sister Fidelma Mysteries (Paperback)

Contrary to Dr. Scheibler's charge, Tremayne's Sister Fidelma mysteries accurately reflect the history of mid-7th century Ireland. Tremayne did not have to fictionalize the setting to make it "amenable to 20th century feminists." The Ireland of those years was as he describes it, notwithstanding an occasional minor anachronism. Even some Catholic histories of the saints acknowledge that Brigid was consecrated a bishop, although some also contend that a nervous bishop said the wrong prayer. Nor is there any doubt that Ireland was then an intellectual capital, with a long-established Brehon law system. There was, as Tremayne recounts, a spirited (pardon the pun) debate going on between the Irish and Roman churches. Some Irish religious practices were, indeed, adaptations from the Druidic system that Christianity supplanted. There is also no question that there were religious communities of married couples, as there are today -- I can refer Dr. Scheibler to one if he'd like. He apparently takes such great offense at Tremayne's reconstruction of a period of history with which he's uncomfortable that he has taken leave of his critical judgement. Speaking as a Christian conservative enough to oppose ordination of women, except perhaps as deaconesses, I am nonetheless very impressed with Tremayne's plotting (locked room mysteries, love triangles, even a ghost story) and characterization. Hence, I greatly enjoy the Sister Fidelma series, however much I may disagree with its theology. "Hemlock At Vespers" naturally lacks the depth that the novels can boast, but this anthology is a marvelous introduction to a religiese with the deductive abilities of Holmes. (In the novels, she occasionally has a "Watson" of sorts.) The book begins with a story in which a visitor to Brigid's community in Kildare dies, poisoned during dinner, within everyone's view. The collection concludes with a marvelous story in which Fidelma solves the mystery of the ghost haunting an innkeeper and his wife. One story, set in France, features a very diagreeable abbot whose disdain of married clerics (celibacy was not mandatory for Catholic priests until long after this time) makes him a grudging participant in solving a murder. Another tale is set in Rome, where Fidelma finds that it often fails to live up to its designation as the Holy City. Like Harriet Klausner, I highly recommend "Hemlock at Vespers." I do quibble with her use of the term "Dark Ages" Ireland. As Tremayne notes, this period was rather an "Age of Golden Enlightenment," especially in education. Newcomers will, I think, be fascinated by this young, intelligent and strong-willed advocate of the Brehon courts who has also taken religious vows. Long-time fans of Fidelma will enjoy this collection of snapshots, the short stories that inspired the novels.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Celtic Short Stories!, April 22, 2003

By 

S. Schwartz "romonko" (alberta canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hemlock at Vespers: Fifteen Sister Fidelma Mysteries (Paperback)

I am usually not a fan of short stories. I prefer the longer mystery novels where there is time to develop characters and to embellish plots, but these 15 short stories of Sister Fidelma are well worth the effort. Yes, there is a lot of repetition by way of introduction for each story, but they are intended to be stand-alone stories and not every reader may see all the stories or have read the Sister Fidelma novels. But the stories were interesting because they were set up in the order of creation, and we see Fidelma developing as she goes along. There is such an array of settings, crimes and motives for each story that it keeps the interest of the reader. The descriptions of the countryside in the various seasons were what I enjoyed the most. The last story in the book has the best description of a snow storm that I've read. If you're a Sister Fidelma fan, you really should take the time to read these stories. You will not be disappointed.