Virgin in the Ice (The Cadfael Chronicles) [Paperback]

Ellis Peters (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 14, 1995 | Series: The Cadfael Chronicles

It is winter 1139 and the tranquil life in the monastery gardens in Shrewsbury is again interrupted by violence. Raging civil war has sent refugees fleeing north from Worcester. Among them are two orphans from a noble family, a boy of thirteen and an eighteen year old girl of great beauty, with their companion, a young Benedictine nun. But the trio have disappeared somewhere in the wild countryside. Cadfael fears for these three lost lambs, but his skills are needed to tend to a wounded monk, found naked and bleeding at the roadside. Why this holy man has been attacked and what his fevered ravings reveal soon give brother Cadfael a clue to the fate of the missing travellers and he sets out to find them. The search will lead him to discover a chilling and terrible murder, and a tale of passion gone astray.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Charming and humorously told.' SPECTATOR

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: 272 pages
• Publisher: Warner Futura (December 14, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0751514012
• ISBN-13: 978-0751514018
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 6.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #577,404 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First-rate Mediaeval thriller and murder mystery, November 19, 2001

By 

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

This review is from: The Virgin in the Ice (Brother Cadfael Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

This sixth in the series of tales of Brother Cadfael is less obviously a whodunit and much more of a thriller or twelfth century adventure story. It is set in the English Marches, amidst the chaos ensuing from the sacking of Worcester by supporters of the Empress Maud against King Stephen in November 1139. The action takes place in Ludlow (mid-way between Cadfael's normal haunts of Shrewsbury, and the beleaguered city of Worcester) where our hero is ostensibly nursing back to health a Benedictine brother who has seemingly been waylaid by a band of outlaws, stripped and left for dead.

Whilst in Ludlow, Cadfael also finds himself embroiled in the hunt for a party of three young persons missing after the attacks on Worcester and known to be heading for Shrewsbury, at which destination they have failed to arrive. With a bitter freeze and the winter's first snows on hand, there are grave concerns for their safety and well-being. One of the three is subsequently found dead - obviously killed and dumped in a watery (now icy) grave on the very night that the good monk's patient was attacked.

Unlike many another Cadfael tale, this one moves along with a gripping sense of urgency and with a fair amount of tension and excitement building gradually as things proceed. It contains Ellis Peters' usual meticulous attention to both historical and narrative detail and constitutes as riveting - and entertaining - a story as you are likely to find. As always, Cadfael is aware of details overlooked by others and never once loses sight of the smaller issues that are wont to become subsumed into the larger, weightier ones. He (and the regular reader) is provided with an unlooked-for reward in this volume, too.

This book has to be one of the very best of the Cadfael Chronicles and is unreservedly recommended for lovers of the genre. Its story line stands somewhat apart from others in the series, making it fairly unimportant where it is read in the sequence.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the strongest Cadfael mysteries., August 31, 2001

By 

bookjunkiereviews (India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Virgin in the Ice (Brother Cadfael Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

First be warned that you have to like historical mysteries, particularly those that take place in medieval times - life was slower back then, and news travelled even slower (depending on the weather, the method of transport, the level of political strife, the condition of roads etc). All of these conditions are brilliantly evoked in THE VIRGIN IN THE ICE, which contains several surprising subplots, including revelations about Cadfael's past.

Now to the review proper. If this is the first Cadfael you are reading, you might find understanding some expressions and the society he lives and works in somewhat hard to follow. Basically, the story is set in the middle of a bitter English civil war between two grandchildren of William the Conqueror. Cadfael is a Welsh soldier turned monk. His chosen specialization in herbs and gardening is combined with his knowledge about warfare (and wounds inflicted by men on each other) and the real world to make him a formidable medieval detective. Furthermore, as a monk, he is relatively protected (as far as one could be protected) from physical harm on either side. Cadfael's duties keep him mostly in one town - Shrewsbury and its immediate environs, but he has been known to travel. While most of the Cadfael mysteries are set close to Shrewsbury (a real town near the Welsh border), in this particular book Cadfael will travel closer to Ludlow, a major castle to the south of Shrewsbury. During his sojourn, he will have to solve several mysteries, such as the identity of the young woman he finds dead and encased in ice (hence the title), the name of her murderer and his motive, the whereabouts of two noble orphans whose uncle belongs to the opposing side in the war, and the whereabouts of a band of robbers terrorizing the countryside. Oh, and find out what exactly happened to a badly injured young monk.

If you have read Cadfael before, you will still find this book enthralling because of the deft way it weaves politics, religion, petty (and not-so-petty) crimes against a sharply delineated local backdrop.

Some readers find Ellis Peters's endless descriptions of the countryside boring. I find them enthralling and only wish her publishers would get the maps right in the paperback versions (I have discovered the map for one book in another). One of the charms of the Cadfael series is the discovery of the Shropshire geography in medieval times, made all the stronger by the fact that the now deceased author was a local. Geography in virtually every Cadfael story is crucial to the plot, and not just backdrop as it is in so much historical fiction. And yes, geography - notably the topography and the weather - was very important to medieval people. It mattered which path you chose in the face of an approaching storm - one choice led you safely (if rather cold) to a place of refuge such as an abbey or a cottager's farm, while another could lead you straight to bandits.

Virtually every Cadfael book has young lovers in it, and this is no exception. Here the young lovers are crucial however to the mystery, and their romance comes about as part of the plot, not incidental to it nor preceding it. If you don't like any romance in your mystery, I don't think this particular title offends very much - the relationship is hinted at, and is not a major part of the story.

This particular title, along with ONE CORPSE TOO MANY, is strongly recommended to lovers of historical mysteries.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cadfael at his best, November 17, 2002

By 

booknblueslady (Woodland, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Virgin in the Ice (Brother Cadfael Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

In Ellis Peters sixth Brother Cadfael chronicle a headstrong young woman, Ermina Hugonin, her younger brother, Yves and a nun flee Worcester and head towards Shrubbery as Maude's forces overpower Stephens in the 12th century. They never arrive, concerning Cadfael and the local Sheriff. After being called to Bromfield to nurse a fellow monk to health Cadfael begins to discover the mystery of their disappearance.

As is her usual style Ellis Peters makes quick work of capturing the readers interest and deftly furnishes the setting with appropriate details of twelfth century life. In this chronicle especially we learn of the dangers and uncertainties created by the great civil war between Maude and Stephen.

With each book I grow fonder of Brother Cadfael, the former warrior who has become a monk. Cadfael, because of his early life experiences has a great understanding of human nature and is slow to condemn those who fail to achieve perfection. He is constantly nurturing and makes an effort to safeguard those younger and weaker than he. In The Virgin in the Ice, Cadfael truly excels and comes into his own. We see him as both an active participant in the events and one who is able to analyze and understand human nature and thus is able to unwind the mystery.

For anyone who is fond of Medieval Mystery the Brother Cadfael Chronicles shouldn't be missed and this is one of the better.