Product Description

Pilgrims are gathering from far and wide to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the translation of Saint Winifred's bones to the Benedictine Abbey at Shrewsbury. In distant Winchester, a knight, supporter of the Empress Maud, has been murdered - not apparently an event of importance to those seeking miraculous cures at the saint's shrine. But among the throng some strange customers indeed begin to puzzle Brother Cadfael - and as the story unfolds it becomes evident that the murder is a much less remote affair than it first seemed.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #197453 in Books
• Published on: 1998-08-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

From Library Journal
The celebration of St. Winifred, in The Pilgrim of Hate, is usually a time of great rejoicing at the Benedictine abbey in Shrewsbury. Even in 1141, with the political factions of Empress Matilda and King Stephen engaged in bloody civil war, the faithful come to Shrewsbury to honor the Saint and pray for miracles. Unfortunately, the shadow of a distant murder hangs over the festival. Several weeks earlier in Winchester, a good and loyal knight was foully slain. The motive for the killing could have been either political or personal, and the murderer may be lurking among the pilgrims. It falls to Brother Cadfael to ferret out the killer. He is curious about two young men who are traveling together to fulfill a bizarre vow. Cadfael cannot rest until he uncovers their story. A colorful cast of well-drawn secondary characters adds richness and depth to a plot that examines joys of faith, as well as the evils of guilt and vengeance. An Excellent Mystery, also set in 1141, is a close sequel to Pilgrim of Hate. When the Benedictine abbey at Winchester is ravaged by fire, two Brothers of the order seek sanctuary at Shrewsbury. Brother Humilis was a famous knight crusader before a nearly fatal wound led to his retirement from the secular world. His mute companion, Brother Fidelis, serves as Humilis's caretaker and nurse. Young Fidelis is like a shadow, his inability to speak makes him the keeper of many secrets. Stephen Thorne, who reads both novels, has a feel for Peters's distinctive prose style, making her use of medieval phrasing and vocabulary sound genuine and natural rather than "historical." Thorne voices the large number of characters and accents in each book with precision, making each unique. Librarians with long-established audiobook collections should note that both of these titles were originally issued in 1993. These recent reissues have been packaged in flimsy and irritating cardboard boxes, which are difficult to open and almost impossible to close. They are decorative but will not be useful for library checkout. Recommended nevertheless, for public library collections where Peters and/or historical mysteries are popular. Barbara Rhodes, Northeast Texas Lib. Syst., Garland
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
'A cult figure of crime fiction.' FINANCIAL TIMES

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.

Customer Reviews

A great story, even without the mystery
If you're interested in an audio edition, check that you're getting the unabridged recording narrated by Stephen Thorne.
Ideally, read all the preceding books in the series, in order, before reading this one. At a minimum, first read #1 (A Morbid Taste for Bones, the story of how the monastery came to have St. Winifred as its patroness) and The Virgin in the Ice, to avoid the biggest spoilers.

This June of 1141, the feast of the translation of St. Winifred dawns upon a time when the civil war between the Empress Maud and King Stephen for the throne of England may finally draw to a close: Stephen was captured at the battle of Lincoln, and even now Maud is negotiating with the city of London for her entry into Westminster for her coronation. The papal legate, Bishop Henry of Blois, brother to Stephen, has called a legatine council (including Abbot Radulfus from Shrewsbury) and is working on turning his allegiance to the empress, for the sake of peace. Hugh, sheriff of Shropshire for Stephen, broods on ways and means of getting a man into Bristol to free Stephen, and prays for a miracle, while using his friend Brother Cadfael as a sounding board.

Cadfael, too, is praying for a miracle - any miracle - at this feast of St. Winifred. Not from a desire for the abbey's glory, or from any faltering of his own faith, but as a sign that the saint took no offense from the events of _A Morbid Taste for Bones_, when he accompanied a delegation from the abbey to the saint's grave in Wales to bring back her mortal remains as holy relics. (Since that was before Hugh's arrival in Shrewsbury, Cadfael summarizes the story for him, so it's possible to follow the plot of _Pilgrim_ without reading _Bones_. But be warned that Cadfael reveals the ending of _Bones_ to Hugh.)

Abbot Radulfus returns in time for the festival, bearing word of a cowardly murder at the legatine council. The attempted murder of the envoy of Stephen's queen failed, but Ranulf Bossard, the brave man of the empress' party who foiled the attempt, was himself cut down in the street.

All the brothers are busily preparing for the huge influx of pilgrims at this time of year, many of whom are ill and seeking miraculous healing. Brother Cadfael, as herbalist, sees some of the more noteworthy cases: Rhun, a devout half-Welsh boy with a twisted leg that might respond to treatment; his sister, Melangell; a young Welsh clark, Ciaran, traveling barefoot and wearing a large iron cross, on his way to Wales to die; Matthew, Ciaran's faithful shadow. There are less savory characters, as well, petty (and not so petty) career criminals who prey on the credulous and the frail. (Credulous, as in, people who trust a stranger's dice.) Some may even have fled from a city too hot to hold them.

Into this festival atmosphere rides a young envoy of the empress' party, on a twofold mission: to sound out Hugh on the question of his fealty, and to seek Bossard's young heir, who disappeared in this direction after his lord's death. But even if he is among the pilgrims, how can he be identified by those who have never seen him? And was he involved in Bossard's death?

A flawlessly produced, superbly narrated audiobook edition.
The Pilgrim Of Hate is another Brother Cadfael mystery that takes place amid the intrigue and pageantry of medieval England. It's 1141 A.D. and the celebration of Saint Winifred has brought a flood of pilgrims to Shrewsbury. Cadfael carefully and cleverly unwinds a twisted tale of retribution, murder, and medieval evil. Stephen Thorne's superb narrative talents do full justice to Ellis Peters' celebrated Brother Cadfael that has become one of the most popular mystery series in the annals of the genre. This Audio Partners complete and unabridged, six cassette audiobook edition is flawlessly produced and will send the listener avidly seeking Peters' earlier Brother Cadfael tales.

St.Winifred's miracle
In this, the tenth of the Brother Cadfael series, the year is 1141, and with King Stephen of England a prisoner in Bristol, the Empress Maud is negotiating with the people of London to be crowned at Westminster. Stephen's queen has sent an envoy to the bishop to plead her husband's cause when he is attacked in the street. One of Maud's own men, Rainald Brossard, is appalled at this unfair attack and goes to his rescue. In the ensueing melee, Rainald is himself stabbed amd killed. In the Abbey of St.Peter and St.Paul in Shrewsbury, the monks are preparing for the annual pilgrimage which is held to celebrate the anniversary of the day when the bones of St.Winifred, a Welsh, virgin saint, were brought to the Abbey. Cadfael is especially praying for a miracle to occur, as he has a slightly uneasy conscience about the actual retrieving of the bones which is explained in the first book of the series, A Morbid Taste for Bones.A strange pair of young men arrive at the Abbey guest house, one of whom is walking with bare, bloodied feet and bearing a very heavy iron cross around his neck on a thin cord. The other man never leaves his side for a minute, even during sleep. The mystery of the story is easy to work out but the whys and wherefores are more complex. It's another wonderful slice of mediaeval history brought to vivid life by Ellis Peters.