The Heretic's Apprentice

by Ellis Peters

Overview

Charges of heresy and murder are complicated by the contents of a mysterious treasure chest

In the summer of 1143, William of Lythwood arrives at the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, but it is not a joyous occasion—he’s come back from his pilgrimage in a coffin. William’s body is accompanied by his young attendant Elave, whose mission is to secure a burial place for his master on the abbey grounds, despite William’s having once been reprimanded for heretical views.
 
An already difficult task is complicated when Elave drunkenly expresses his own heretical opinions, and capital charges are filed. When a violent death follows, Sheriff Hugh Beringar taps his friend Brother Cadfael for help. The mystery that unfolds grows deeper thanks to a mysterious and marvelous treasure chest in Elave’s care. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781504067560
Publisher:	Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
Publication date:	08/10/2021
Series:	Brother Cadfael Series , #16
Pages:	257
Sales rank:	456,205
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Ellis Peters is a pseudonym of Edith Mary Pargeter (1913–1995), a British author whose Chronicles of Brother Cadfael are credited with popularizing the historical mystery. Cadfael, a Welsh Benedictine monk living at Shrewsbury Abbey in the first half of the twelfth century, has been described as combining the curious mind of a scientist with the bravery of a knight-errant. The character has been adapted for television, and the books drew international attention to Shrewsbury and its history.
 
Pargeter won an Edgar Award in 1963 for Death and the Joyful Woman, and in 1993 she won the Cartier Diamond Dagger, an annual award given by the Crime Writers’ Association of Great Britain. She was appointed officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1994, and in 1999 the British Crime Writers’ Association established the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger award, later called the Ellis Peters Historical Award.

Editorial Reviews

"Peters’ historical mysteries are vivid standouts. . . . An old-fashioned joust between good and evil.” —Chicago Sun-Times
 
“Her style is brilliant . . . in addition to mesmerizing us with a look at feudal England just after the Saxons lost it to the Normans. Peters’ latest is a crackling good mystery.” —The Plain Dealer
 
“The novels weave a wonderful spell on the reader.” —Rave Reviews

From the Publisher

Brother Cadfael, 12th-century herbalist, sleuth and sometime cupid, outdoes himself in this, his 16th chronicle, in which Peters imbues the familiar territory of murder, young love and odious villainry with fresh vigor and new subtleties. Elave, young clerk to William of Lythwood, returns from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with his elderly master's body. His missions are to bury William in his home abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul, and to deliver a dowry to William's adopted daughter Fortunata. But Elave, suspected of harboring views inimical to church doctrine, is held for ecclesiastical trial. And when Aldwin, the Lythwood family clerk hired in Elave's absence, is stabbed to death, Elave is incarcerated not only for heresy, but for murder. Fortunata's dowry, an intricately carved box with mysterious contents, holds the key to the mysteries that spring up around Elave and the Lythwood family. Shrewd and patient, Brother Cadfael is at his best here. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly