The Rose Rent by Ellis Peters (1986-10-02)

J adore cette petite s rie de chroniques qui se passent au moyen ge, j en ai toujours un dans la valise, pour mener l enqu te pendant mes voyages.

Une veuve plor e l gue ses biens au monast re de notre d tective m di val pr f r , Fr re Cadfael, en change d un loyer annuel, sous la forme d une rose Mais cette innocente exigence va se r v ler tr s pernicieuse, surtout quand la veuve est aussi jeune, aussi charmante et aussi riche Un r gal, comme la plupart des livres de Ellis Peter A savourer en compagnie d un Fr re Cadfael aussi passionnant que sympathique

All of the Cadfael mysteries are wonderful For those unfamiliar with the 12th century historical background, some of the necessary setting in time may seem dull, even though the author handles it concisely It is often extremely pertinent to the solution of the crime or crimes however The violence is told, not seen Like Greek tragedies it occurs off stage The point of view is mostly Cadfael s, but the author has no qualms about switching to another narrator for situations where Cadfael cannot be [...]

This 12th century mystery series by Ellis Peters take place in a fog of civil war, where the English and Welsh were raiding each other s borders and supporting one or another claimant to the English throne Empress Maud or King Stephen In spite of the ongoing violence, the author suffuses her novels with a deep sense of peace and contentment in the monastic life A monk from the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul at Shrewsbury, Brother Cadfael, the ex Crusader turned herbalist is her [...]

I am reading the Cadfael mysteries in order Some I ve read years ago, and some I ve seen in the TV series with Derek Jacobi including this one , but if it s been a while, and whether you ve seen a story on TV or not, these mysteries are well worth reading or re reading for the charm and soothing medieval life of Cadfael in his Abbey herb garden, for the beautiful narrative description of the medieval English settings, for a deeper look into the characters, and for many small, rich details of cha [...]

The exposition was swift yet contained all one needed to know in order to embrace the action and understand the characters roles especially if one is already familiar with Cadfael mysteries This is a must be included in anyone s Cadfeal collection.

I enjoyed this gentle mystery with its medieval setting and its emphasis on human nature rather than technology to solve the crime It s another time and place, but people s motivations don t change much love and money Ellis Peters makes the characters believable because they don t act or speak like contemporary people And yet they re living in parts of England you can still visit today A nice escape from today, for a while.