Sanctuary Sparrow (Brother Cadfael Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Ellis Peters (Author) "IT BEGAN, as the greatest of storms do begin, as a mere tremor in the air, a thread of sound so distant and faint, yet..." (more)
Key Phrases: parish altar, lord abbot, west door, Brother Cadfael, Brother Anselm, Baldwin Peche (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
'Gripping and knowledgable.' SPECTATOR --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
A paperback edition of a novel featuring Brother Cadfael. A young man pursued by a lynching mob seeks sanctuary at the Benedictine monastery in Shrewsbury. He is accused of robbery and murder, but Cadfael senses his innocence and sets out to prove it. Publication is to coincide with the televising of a new series based on the Cadfael chronicles. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Press (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446404292
• ISBN-13: 978-0446404297
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #186,365 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #21 in

  Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( P ) > Peters, Ellis

• This is item 7 in The Brother Cadfael Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A finely honed tale of mediaeval intrigue, November 25, 2001

By	Steve Benner "Stonegnome" (Lancaster, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Barely four weeks past Easter of the Year of Our Lord 1140, with Shrewsbury and all its region secure within the King's peace, the conventual peace of Matins within the great Abbey church of St Peter and St Paul is suddenly and most rudely shattered. Hunted and hounded by an angry mob into the comparative safety of sanctuary within the House of God, a terrified young man, accused of robbery and murder, and closely followed by his accusers and would-be executioners, disturbs the midnight office of the good monks of Shrewsbury. And so starts the seventh Chronicle of Brother Cadfael, in which the mediaeval sleuth finds himself with yet another wrong to right, by once more putting his mind to the solving of one of Shrewsbury's small mysteries.

In this particular case, the mystery is no greatly complex affair but it is, in any case, largely subsidiary to Ellis Peters' painting of a finely detailed picture of life in twelfth century England, and more especially here, within a moderately wealthy family household. There are some unexpected twists and developments along the way, though, and there is certainly nothing predictable about the way the story works itself out, although the ending is no particular surprise either.

In some respects, this is one of the best of the Cadfael books. Its opening pages contain some of Ellis Peters' finest writing, with her descriptions of the running to ground of young Liliwin and the reactions of Abbot Radulfus being quite hair-raising in their potency. The tale unfolds at a sure and steady pace thereafter, too, ensuring that it is always difficult to put the book down, right up until the final exciting, and rather tear-jerking, denouement.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Love in the cloisters, February 6, 2006

By	Beverley Strong (Australia) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Following a weddding feast where a young man has been entertaining the guests with songs and tumbling, the unconscious body of the host, a parsimonious goldsmith, is found, near his empty treasure chest. A hue and cry is called, blaming the minstrel and an angry, drunken crowd pursues him to the Abbey of Shrewsbury, where he claims sanctuary. The Abbot is forced by custom to grant him food and shelter for 40 days, but urges Cadfael to investigate the claims made against the minstrel. The household of the goldsmith is not a very happy one with the ageing daughter of the house forced into the role of unpaid and unappreciated servant, without the chance of making a life of her own, and with the grandmother as mean as her son, carping and acid tongued. An extremely nosy neighbour of the goldsmith has determined who was responsible fot the theft and seeks to profit by this knowledge, but is murdered before he can tell anyone his suspicions. Cadfael, as usual, patiently sifts through all the tiny clues which would probably escape the attention of anyone else, and fights hard to clear the minstrel's name. It's another Brother Cadfael triumph of love and justice over the evil doers.

3.0 out of 5 stars It's ending is predictable, December 28, 2008

By	David Wilkin (La Habra Heights, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sanctuary Sparrow, the (The Cadfael Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)

My first exposure to Cadfael, on PBS was with this story. It is possibly the one I remember most. In the end I think you can see how it will play out, but until two thirds of the book, you still should be guessing. The thing about Cadfael and Ellis Peters is that the world that she crafts is detailed exquisitely. She uses prose, sometimes a great deal, but she gives you imagery in her mystery's that transcend them into historical fiction.

Conan Doyle lived during his protagonists adventures. Peters uses her imagine to spark ours. The stories coupled with the Mystery Series go hand and hand, and with Derek Jacobi as the Cadfael, it is a winner all around.

The Sanctuary Sparrow has enough clues, and the background of the give and take of the Abbey and the Shire make all the more sense as part of the story. Part of the great fun of the Cadfael stories is to see how the politics of the Abbey progresses through the various stories, and how well Cadfael's friends and enemies are succeeding in their own lives