Brother Cadfael’s Penance

Name: Brother Cadfael’s Penance
Rating: 4.6 (2945 reviews)

by Ellis Peters Book 20 in the Chronicles of Brother Cadfael series.

First published 1994

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4.6(2,945)

In late 1145, England remains divided between King Stephen and Empress Matilda, and an attempted peace meeting at Coventry fails to end the conflict. Brother Cadfael learns that Olivier de Bretagne, the son whose existence he has kept secret, disappeared after the surrender of Faringdon Castle and may be held by men whose loyalties have shifted during the war.

Cadfael leaves Shrewsbury without formal permission and enters the contested country around Gloucester and the Thames Valley. His search draws him into a murder accusation, a castle siege and the bitter division between Robert of Gloucester and his son Philip. The final chronicle brings Cadfael's monastic vocation into direct conflict with his duty as a father.

Historical Periods

Second Crusade1147–1149 CE Medieval England after the Norman Conquest1071–1300 CE Siege of Faringdon Castle1145 CE

Historical people

Robert Pennantdied 1168 Stephen, King of England1095–1154 Empress Matilda1102–1167 Henry of Blois1096–1171 Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester1090–1147 Roger de Clintonc. 11th century–1148 Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester1104–1168 David I of Scotland1084–1153 John Marshal1105–1165