Summer of the Danes (Brother Cadfael Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Ellis Peters (Author)

Book Description

Series: Brother Cadfael Mysteries | Publication Date: June 1, 1991

In the summer of 1144, a strange calm has settled over England. The armies of King Stephen & Empress Maud, the two royal cousins contending for the throne, have temporarily exhausted each other. On the whole, Brother Cadfael considers peace a blessing & agrees to accompany a friend to Wales. When Cadfael is captured by an army of Danish mercenaries, he finds himself in the midst of a brotherly quarrel that could plunge an entire kingdom into deadly chaos.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Twelfth-century monk and sleuth Brother Cadfael, making his 18th appearance, must go deep into Wales on a pilgrimage of Church diplomacy.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

When Brother Cadfael is excused from his duties at Shrewsbury Abbey to accompany Brother Mark on a mission of church diplomacy, he considers it a wonderful stroke of good luck. He gets to venture into his much-loved Wales as a Welsh translator for messages Brother Mark is carrying to two newly appointed bishops. The first message is delivered to the court of Bishop Gilbert, who is playing host to Prince Owain Gwynedd and trying to smooth the relations between Welsh royalty and the Church. During their stay at Gilbert's court, Cadfael and Mark meet a lovely young woman, Heledd, who comes to figure prominently in the story, and Bledri ap Rhys, a messenger from Owain's rebellious brother, Cadwaladr. When Cadfael and Mark continue their journey to visit the second of the new bishops, they find themselves part of a larger traveling party. Listeners expecting one of Brother Cadfael's usual adventures will be disappointed; here he is more observer than actor. Political mayhem, war, murder, and even romance are all results of conflicted loyalties. Patrick Tull's narration is precise and accurate if somewhat dry. It's easy to differentiate among Welsh, English and Irish-Danish characters but not quite as easy to sort out separate characters when they have the same dialect. Still, Tull seems to have done very well with what must have been a challenging assignment. Recommended where works by Peters or other Brother Cadfael titles are popular. - Barbara Rhodes, Northeast Texas Lib. Syst., Garland
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Press; 1st edition (June 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892964480
• ISBN-13: 978-0892964482
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #216,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Peters' Cadfael takes on a Danish role!, May 4, 2000

By 

Billy J. Hobbs "Bill Hobbs" (Tyler, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Summer of the Danes: The Eighteenth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael (Mass Market Paperback)

It is not the summer of his discontent, washed by the sun of Yorke; however, it is the season for another Cadfael adventure and mystery! And Ellis Peters, in her usual intriguing way, presents us with her 18th Brother Cadfael episode in "The Summer of the Danes."

The year is 1144--the civil war between King Stephen and Empress Maud still rages on--and Brother Cadfael is called upon to be an interpreter to the Welsh village of Saint Asaph. Cadfael is Welsh born and he welcomes the journey to his homeland as a pleasant break from his duties as a brother at the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Shrewsbury.

As it turns out--and naturally, as this is an Ellis Peters mystery!--a Danish fleet is sighted along the coast of Wales, a real menace, indeed. Then a young girl goes missing. Then a body is found. And Cadfael is off and running.

So is the reader! Having read all the Brother Cadfael series, I found this to be one of my favorites. Peters wastes no time in developing her story and does not hesitate to flavor her plot with plenty of Welsh history and lore. Will the Danes invade? Will the murderer be brought to justice? Cadfael's expertise, once again, proves to be essential in the resolution of the crimes.

Cadfael is the former crusader now turned monk who, while not solving murder cases, works as the Abbey's herbalist and is known throughout the area for his skills in medicine. The "Sunday Express" writes: "Cadfael...springs to life in her books, which are novels with depth. He is a man of warmth, humanity and engaging nosiness."

Do not be misled by the British TV series of the Cadfael stories. While on the surface they are quite adequate (Derek Jacobi is an ideal Cadfael), the 50-minute recounting of any of Peters' books does not do justice to the novel, which is a pity, for there are great gaps of (mis)understanding that simply cannot be supplied in such short time. Stay with the books! They are well-worth the read. Cadfael is a character worth knowing!

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not quite as good as the rest of the series, March 15, 2006

By 

M. R. Gawe (Vermont) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Summer of the Danes: The Eighteenth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael (Mass Market Paperback)

The first 50 pages are mostly travelogue, and the next 50 pages are mostly set-up. The story doesn't really take off until around page 115. Once it gets going, it's good, but I found myself skimming huge paragraphs of bucolic description in the beginning. It's worth reading if you're working your way through the series, but if you're looking for an introduction to the Cadfael series, don't start with this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Strained relations, May 15, 2006

By 

Beverley Strong (Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Summer of the Danes (Brother Cadfael Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This 18th chronicle of Brother Cadfael has less about him and more about history. In fact, he really only appears at the beginning and at the ending and doesn't have any hand at all in the solving of crimes. The story springs from the tempestuous relationship between Owain Gwynedd, Prince of Wales and Cadwaladr, his treacherous and headstrong younger brother. The brothers have had no peace between them for years as Cadwaladr is forever plotting to seize power for himself, being beaten at this game by his brother and then counting on the strong family ties that exist in all Welshmen, to be forgiven and taken back into the fold. This time, he has gone too far however, and has hired Danish mercenaries to attack Owain's troops. These Danes have been settled in Ireland for generations (a fact I did not know) and were just as much Irish as Danish and were Christian to boot! It was an interesting read for the historical contents alone, even if Cadfael scarcely appeared.