Brother Cadfael's Penance (The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael Book 20) (original 1994; edition 2014)

by Ellis Peters (Author)

Series: Brother Cadfael Mysteries (20)

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To save his estranged son, Brother Cadfael risks breaking his monastic vows For Brother Cadfael in the autumn of his life, the mild November of our Lord's year 1145 may bring a bitter-and deadly-harvest. England is torn between supporters of the Empress Maud and those of her cousin Stephen. The civil strife is about to jeopardize not only Cadfael's life, but his hopes of Heaven. While Cadfael has sometimes bent the abbey's rules, he has never broken his monastic vows-until now. Word has come to Shrewsbury of a treacherous act that has left thirty of Maud's knights imprisoned. All have been ransomed except Cadfael's secret son, Olivier de Bretagne. Conceived in Cadfael's soldiering youth and unaware of his father's identity, Olivier will die if he is not freed. Like never before, Cadfael must boldly defy the abbot. The good brother forsakes the order to follow his heart-but what he finds will challenge his soul.… (more)

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Member:	ALoHaNinja06
Title:	Brother Cadfael's Penance (The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael Book 20)
Authors:	Ellis Peters (Author)
Info:	MysteriousPress.com/Open Road (2014), 276 pages
Collections:	Fiction, Your library
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Brother Cadfael's Penance by Ellis Peters (1994)

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English (22) Spanish (2) German (1) French (1) Dutch (1) All languages (27)

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Showing 1-5 of 22 (next | show all)

Did I know who did it and who would be framed before the body was even discovered? Yep. Did that take away the pleasure of the book? Not a bit. (

)

blueskygreentrees | Jul 30, 2023 |

When a fortress is betrayed to King Stephen's forces, the defenders are passed out to the victors to be ransomed. When both King Stephen & Maud meet at a neutral site, someone is found murdered outside the church. Cadfael in search of his son must uncover who committed the act before an innocent man is hanged. But when the prime suspect is kidnapped by a man bent on vengeance, Cadfael stumbles on his son's whereabouts. Everything is suddenly complicated when Maud surrounds the castle with the avenger, the prime suspect, the son, & Cadfael in it. Will Cadfael keep everyone involved alive before a massacre occurs? (

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walterhistory | Sep 5, 2022 |

I've been putting off reading this, the last of the Brother Cadfael series, but I'm glad I finally did take the plunge. Without spoilers: Brother Cadfael finds himself having to leave his duties in order to assist in brokering a peace between Empress Maud and King Stephen. There's also some unfinished business from previous books that is being addressed, so don't read this until you've read the previous entries. Nice swan song. (

)

fuzzi | Dec 6, 2021 |

I've enjoyed the few Cadfael books I've read, but this one didn't do much for me. I went in expecting a mystery, but the murder and the search for Cadfael's missing son take a backseat to the politics behind the war that was devastating the country at the time. (

)

amanda4242 | Apr 5, 2020 |

The culmination of Ellis Peter's Brother Cadfael chronicles released the year before her death at age 92. When news is brought to Shrewsbury that Olivier de Bretagne, a staunch supporter of Empress Maud, is missing after Philip FitzRobert, son of Robert of Gloucester, turns to King Stephen's side of the war, Cadfael requests permission to go seek freedom for his son even though Olivier doesn't know he is Cadfael's son. The abbot grants him 3 days to do so, but when that isn't enough, Cadfael abandons his religious orders in pursuit of his son's freedom. Nicely executed and a satisfactory conclusion to her 20 novels even though there is plenty of room for continuing the series had Ellis lived. (

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phoenixcomet | Jul 9, 2019 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Ellis Peters	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Bascove	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Janssens, Pieter	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Thorne, Stephen	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

Brother Cadfael Mysteries (20)

Belongs to Publisher Series

Grands détectives, 10/18

現代教養文庫

Is contained in

The Seventh Cadfael Omnibus by Ellis Peters

The Adventures of Brother Cadfael: A Collection of Chronicles by Ellis Peters

Vier historische speurders by Ellis Peters

Brother Cadfael: The Complete Chronicles by Ellis Peters

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Canonical title

Brother Cadfael's Penance

Original title

Brother Cadfael's Penance

Alternative titles

Original publication date

People/Characters

Important places

Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, UK (12th century, 1145)

Shropshire, England, UK

Important events

Nineteen Year Winter (1135 | 1154)

Related movies

Cadfael (1994 | IMDb)

Epigraph

Dedication

First words

The Earl of Leicester's courier came riding over the bridge that spanned the Severn, and into the town of Shrewsbury, somewhat past noon on a day at the beginning of November, with three months' news in his saddle roll.

Quotations

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Original language

Information from the French Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.

Anglais

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Brother Cadfael's Penance

▾Book descriptions

To save his estranged son, Brother Cadfael risks breaking his monastic vows For Brother Cadfael in the autumn of his life, the mild November of our Lord's year 1145 may bring a bitter-and deadly-harvest. England is torn between supporters of the Empress Maud and those of her cousin Stephen. The civil strife is about to jeopardize not only Cadfael's life, but his hopes of Heaven. While Cadfael has sometimes bent the abbey's rules, he has never broken his monastic vows-until now. Word has come to Shrewsbury of a treacherous act that has left thirty of Maud's knights imprisoned. All have been ransomed except Cadfael's secret son, Olivier de Bretagne. Conceived in Cadfael's soldiering youth and unaware of his father's identity, Olivier will die if he is not freed. Like never before, Cadfael must boldly defy the abbot. The good brother forsakes the order to follow his heart-but what he finds will challenge his soul.

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