Raven in the Foregate (The Cadfael Chronicles) [Paperback]

Ellis Peters (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1996 | Series: The Cadfael Chronicles

In a mild December in the year of our Lord 1141, a new priest comes to the parishoners of the Foregate outside the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Father Ailnoth brings with him a housekeeper and her nephew- and a disposition that invites murder. Brother Cadfael quickly sees that Father Ailnoth is a harsh man who behaves like a doom-saying raven. The housekeeper's nephew, Benet, is quite different, a smiling lad, a hard worker in Cadfael's herb garden but, as Brother Cadfael soon discovers, an impostor. And when Ailnoth is found drowned, suspicion falls on Benet, though many in the Foregate had cause to want the priest dead. Now Brother Cadfael is gathering clues along with his medicinals to treat a case of unholy passions, tragic politics, and perhaps divine intervention.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Miss Peters is a beguiling writer. DAILY TELEGRAPH

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.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Warner Futura (February 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0751517402
• ISBN-13: 978-0751517408
• Product Dimensions: 4.3 x 0.7 x 7.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #756,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A cat among the pigeons, March 3, 2006

By 

Beverley Strong (Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Raven in the Foregate (Brother Cadfael Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Just prior to Christmas,1141, a new priest is appointed to the parish church of Holy Cross...also known as the Abbey of St.Peter and St.Paul. Father Adam, the easy going, genial and forgiving priest who had cared for his flock for many years, has died and the charge of filling his shoes falls to the brothers of the Abbey. The Abbot has selected a well educated, former secretary to the Papal legate as a worthy candidate, not realising that an able administrator does not necessarily make a compassionate and understanding priest. Father Ailnoth immediately alienates his parishioners with his harsh, unforgiving rule, severely ruffling the feathers of servants and free men alike, so when his body is found, floating in the river, Sheriff Hugh Beringar finds a wall of silence surrounding the apparent murder. Suspicion falls on Cadfael's new garden helper, Benet who came to the town as a nephew to Father Ailnoth's housekeeper. As usual, Cadfael and Hugh solve the not so difficult mystery and, as usual, the setting for the story is what makes it so appealing. Despite the changes in the surroundings and circumstances of today, the people of nine centuries past, are just the same as the people of today, with their jealousies, faults and squabbles.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The canon keeps on keeping on, December 28, 2008

By 

David Wilkin (La Habra Heights, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Raven in the Foregate (Brother Cadfael Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

The prose of Ellis Peters is phenomenal in it's own way. This time out the mystery has clues and red herrings a plenty, with the background of the civil war still thrown in to keep us entertained. A much better addition to the canon then some of the other previous ones of late.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mystery at Holy Cross, May 20, 2005

By 

R. Chaffey "beckahi" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Raven in the Foregate (Brother Cadfael Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the first book that I have read of the Brother Cadfael Mysteries. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I was drawn into the world of medieval England that Peters brings to life. "The Raven in the Foregate" is a quick read, entertaining and mysterious to the fact that there is not much mystery to the case at hand.

As usual, Brother Cadfael is drawn into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the newly instituted priest of Holy Cross, Father Ailnoth. While he was alive, Ailnoth was quick to make enemies in the church and in the community; many are glad to see him dead, and many are content to hold their tongues as to the truth of what caused his death on Christmas Eve. Complicating matters are the search for a French renegade who was undercover at Holy Cross in the guise of the nephew of Father Ailnoth's housekeeper. Brother Cadfael must piece together the scant clues and abounding rumors to uncover the truth of Ailnoth's death.

"The Raven in the Foregate" is a well-written mystery, although at times too tidy and predictable. It was a true delight to enter into the world of Holy Cross and medieval England that Peters has crafted throughout her Cadfael mystery series. I look forward to reading the other books in the series.