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In the February of the year of our Lord 1141, men march home from war to Shrewsbury, but the captured Sheriff Gilbert Prestcote is not among them. Elis, a young Welsh prisoner, is, and he is delivered to the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul to begin a tale that will test Brother Cadfael's sense of justice . . . and his heart. By good fortune, it seems, the prisoner can be exchanged as Sheriff Prestcote's ransom. What none expects is that good-natured Elis will be struck down by Cupid's arrow. The sherrif's own daughter holds him in thrall, and she too, is blind with passion. Now regaining her father means losing her lover. But then the sheriff, ailing and frail, is brought to the abbey's infirmary and murdered there. Suspicion falls on the prisoner, who only has his Welsh honour to gain Brother Cadfael's help. And Cadfael gives it, not knowing the truth will be a trial for his own soul.

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The year is 1143, and once again Brother Cadfael is forced to abandon the tranquility of his herb garden and use his knowledge of human nature to solve a murder- this time frighteningly close to home. When a newly ploughed field, recently given to the Abbey yields that body of a young woman, Cadfael is quickly thrown into a delicate situation. The field was once ownded by a local potter named Ruald, who deserted his beautiful wife to take monastic vows among the Benedictines. The woman was said to have gone away with a lover, but now it would appear otherwise. With the arrival of young Sulien Blount, a novice fleeing homeward from the civil war raging in East Anglia, the mysteries surrounding the corpse start to multiply.

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In the gentle Shrewsbury spring of 1140 the midnight matins at the Benedictine abbey suddenly reverberates with an unholy sound - a hunt in full cry. Pursued by a drunken mob, the quarry is running for its life. When the frantic creature bursts into the nave to claim sanctuary, Brother Cadfael finds himself fighting off armed townsmen to save a terrified young man. Accused of robbery and murder is Liliwin, a wandering minstrel who performed at the wedding of the local goldsmith's son. But his supposed victim, the miserly craftsman, is still alive, although a strongbox lies empty. Brother Cadfael believes that Liliwin is innocent, but finding the truth and the treasure before Liliwin's respite in sanctuary runs out may uncover a deadlier sin than thievery - a desperate love that nothing, not even the threat of hanging, can stop.

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THE HOLY THIEF: At the height of the hot summer of 1144, the abbey at Ramsey is in danger. When heavy rain brings the threat of floods to Shrewsbury and the holy relics must be removed to a place of safety, the subsiding waters reveal a robbery has been committed. The master sleuthing of Brother Cadfael is put to the test once more, but to the crime of theft is soon added a murder...BROTHER CADFAEL'S PENANCE: In the year of our Lord 1145, the bitter rift between King Stephen and Empress Maud at last has a chance of reconciliation, particularly the question of the prisoners of war. Brother Cadfael learns that amongst the prisoner is Olivier de Bretagne; his son. His determination to come to his son's aid prompts a perplexing investigation of a uniquely personal nature.A RARE BENEDICTINE: In these three vintage tales of intrigue and treachery: 'A Light on the Road to Woodstock,' 'The Price of Light' and 'Eye Witness,' emerges the events that have turned Cadfael from a crusading and seafaring past to the momentous decision of entering the Benedictine Order of the Abbey of St Peter and St Paul.

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The cloistered walls of Shrewsbury Abbey have always protected Brother Cadfael from the raging Civil War. But when fighting escalates between Empress Maud and King Stephen, the war takes a deadly step closer to him. Taken prisoner in the battle for Maud''s land is Olivier de Bretagne, Brother Cadfael''s own son- born as a result of a brief encouter thirty years earlier. Now Brother Cadfael resolves to plead for his son''s release at a peace conference scheduled to take place in Coventry; but there is no sign of Olivier there. After much soul searching, Cadfael makes the difficult decision to break his monastic vows, leaving Coventry without permission- because he knows he must do everything in his power to find his son.

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Brother Cadfael sets out to visit the Saint Giles leper colony outside Shrewsbury, knowing that a grand wedding is due to take place at the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. As he arrives at Saint Giles the nuptial party passes the colony's gates. He sees the fragile bride, looking like a prisoner between her two stern guardians, and the groom, an arrogant, fleshy aristocrat old enough to be her grandfather. With his usual astuteness he suspects that this union may be more damned than blessed. He is horrifically proved right when a savage murder disrupts the May-December marriage leaving Brother Cadfael with a dark and terrible mystery to solve. For the key to the killing - and a secret - are hidden among the lepers of Saint Giles and Brother Cadfael's skills must diagnose a sickness, not of the body, but of a twisted soul.

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The Sanctuary Sparrow: Sudden drama strikes the Benadictine monastery at Shrewsbury when a young man, pursued by a lynching mob, claims sanctuary just in time to save his life. Cadfael senses the young man''s innocence and sets out to solve yet another tangle of human passions where love plays its inevitable part.The Devil''s Novice: The Benedictine monastery at Shrewsbury finds its new novice Meriet Aspley a disturbing presence. Meek and bidable by day, his sleep is rent with nightmares so violent as to earn him the nickname of Devil''s Novice. Can Meriet be involved in the nearby disappearance of a superior prelate? As events take a sinister turn, it falls to Brother Cadfael to detect the truth behind the young man''s predicament.Dead Man''s Ransom: In the battle of Lincoln, the sherrif of Shropshire is captured and the King himself taken prisoner by his enemies. Nothing more natural than that an exchange of prisoners should take place. But before this can be completed, on

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The Pilgrim of Hate: As the pilgrims gather at Shrewsbury, in distant Winchester a knight has been murdered. Among the throng of pilgrims, some strange customers indeed begin to puzzle Brother Cadfael, and as events unfold it becomes clear that the murder is a much less remote affair that it first seemed.An Excellent Mystery: In 1141 England is still torn by civic strife. Among the victims of the carnage is the Abbey of Hyde Meade, totally destroyed. But as its brothers attempt to rebuild their lives, old wounds are re-opened, painfully relived and harsh deeds committed. Only Brother Cadfael can ultimately distinguish between victim, innocent and guilty party.The Raven in the Foregate: Abbot Radulfus returns from London, bringing with him a priest for the vacant living of the Holy Cross (known as the Foregate)- a man of scholarship and discipline, but not humility. When he is found drowned in the millpond, suspicion is cast in many directions... and only the perseverance of

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This volume contains three of Brother Cadfael's Chronicles:ST PETER'S FAIR. An unseemly quarrel between the local burghers and the monks from the Benedictine monastery in Shrewsbury over who shall benefit from the levies on Shrewsbury's annual Fair leaves a merchant dead, and Cadfael is summoned from the peace of his herb garden to practice his skills as a detective.THE LEPER OF ST GILES. Outside the walls of Shrewsbury is St Giles, a sanctuary for the sick, but also a possible refuge for a wanted man. When a member of a wedding party is savagely murdered, Brother Cadfael finds himself at St Giles as herbalist and as detective in search of the killer.THE VIRGIN IN THE ICE. In the winter of 1139 civil war brings refugees to Shrewsbury in search of sanctuary. But two orphans and their companion, a nun, don't arrive from Worcester, and Cadfael is despatched from the Abbey to try and locate them in the harsh winter landscape of frost and snow.

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In a mild December in the year of our Lord 1141, a new priest comes to the parishoners of the Foregate outside the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Father Ailnoth brings with him a housekeeper and her nephew- and a disposition that invites murder. Brother Cadfael quickly sees that Father Ailnoth is a harsh man who behaves like a doom-saying raven. The housekeeper''s nephew, Benet, is quite different, a smiling lad, a hard worker in Cadfael''s herb garden but, as Brother Cadfael soon discovers, an impostor. And when Ailnoth is found drowned, suspicion falls on Benet, though many in the Foregate had cause to want the priest dead. Now Brother Cadfael is gathering clues along with his medicinals to treat a case of unholy passions, tragic politics, and perhaps divine intervention.

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In the chilly, damp Autumn of 1144, two groups of visitors seek the hospitality of the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and Brother Cadfael fears the trouble has come in with them. Among the first arrivals is Brother Tutilo, a young Benedictine with a guileless face and- to Brother Cadfael''s shrewd eyes- a mischievous intelligence. The second group, a ribald French troubadour, his servant and a girl with the voice of an angel, seems to Brother Cadfael a catalyst for disaster. All of Cadfael''s fears become manifest as rising flood waters endanger the abbey''s most sacred relic, the remains of Saint Winfred. When the bones disappear and a dead body is found, Brother Cadfael knows that carnal and spiritual intrigues are afoot. Now, in a world that believes in signs and miracles, Brother Cadfael needs his prayers answered- as well as some heavenly guidance to crucial clues- to catch a killer hell-bent on murder.

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In the summer of 1144, a strange calm has settled over England. The armies of King Stephen and Empress Maud have temporarily exhausted each other. Brother Cadfael considers peace a blessing, but a little excitement never comes amiss to a former soldier and Cadfael is delighted to accompany his young friend, Brother Mark, on a mission of church diplomacy to his native Wales, not expecting to be caught up in yet another royal feud. The Welsh prince Owain Gwynedd has banished his brother Cadwaladr, accusing him of the treacherous murder of an ally. The reckless Cadwaldr has retaliated by landing an army of Danish mercenaries, poised to invade Wales and retake his lost lands. As the two armies teeter on the brink of bloody civil war, Cadfael is captured by the Danes together with a headstrong young woman fleeing an arranged marriage, but before he can untangle such domestic passions, Cadfael has to survive the brotherly quarrel that could plunge an entire kingdom into deadly chaos.

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In the year of our Lord 1141, August comes in golden as a lion, and two monks ride into the Benedictine abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul bringing with them disturbing news of war- and a mystery. The strangers tell how the strife between the Empress Maud and King Stephen has destroyed the town of Winchester and their priory. Now Brother Humilis, who is handsome, gaunt and very ill, and Brother Fidelis, youthful, comely- and mute- must seek refuge at Shrewsbury.From the moment he meets them, Brother Cadfael senses that they are bound by something deeper than their common vows. What the link is he can only guess; what it will lead to is beyond imagining. But as Brother Humilis''s health fails, Brother Cadfael faces a poignant test of his discretion and his beliefs as he unravels a secret so great it can destroy a life, a future, and a holy order.

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A late spring in 1142 brings dismay to the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, for there may be no roses by June the twenty-second. On that day the young widow Perle must receive one white rose as rent for the house she has given to benefit the abbey or the contract is void. When nature finally complies, a pious monk is sent to pay the rent, but discovers that the rose bush has been destroyed and he is then found murdered inside it. The abbey''s wise herbalist, Brother Cadfael, follows the trail of bloodied petals. He knows the lovely widow''s dowry is far greater with her house included, and she will likely wed again. But before Cadfael can ponder if a greedy suitor has done this dreadful deed, another crime is committed. Now the good monk must thread his way through a tangle more torturous than the widow''s thorns.

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Saint Peter's Fair is a grand festive event, attracting tradesmen from across England and beyond. There is a pause in the civil war racking the country in the summer of 1139, and the fair promises to bring some much needed gaiety to the town of Shrewsbury. Until, that is, the body of a wealthy trader is found in the River Severn. Was Thomas of Bristol the victim of murderous thieves? And if so, why were his valuables abandoned nearby? Brother Cadfael offers to help the merchant's lovely niece Emma. But while he is seaching for the killer, the man's wares are ransacked and two more men are murdered. Emma almost certainly knows more than she is telling, as others will soon realise. Cadfael desperately races to save the young girl, knowing that in a country at war with itself, betrayal can come from any direction, and even good intentions can kill.

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In 1137 the ambitious head of Shrewsbury Abbey has decided to acquire the remains of Saint Winifred for his Benedictine order. Brother Cadfael is part of the expedition sent to her final resting place in Wales, where they find the villagers passionately divided by the Benedictines' offer for the saint's relics.Canny, wise and all too worldly, Cadfael isn't surprised when this taste for bones leads to bloody murder. The leading opponent to moving the grave has been shot dead with a mysterious arrow, and some say Winifred herself dealt the blow. Brother Cadfael knows that a carnal hand did the killings, but he doesn't know that his plan to unearth a murderer may dig up a case of love and justice, where the wages of sin may be scandal - or his own ruin.

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Gervase Bonel, with his wife and servants, is a guest of Shrewsbury Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul when he is suddenly taken ill. Luckily, the Abbey boasts the services of clever and kindly Brother Cadfael, a skilled herbalist. Cadfael hurries to the man's bedside, only to be confronted by two very different surprises. In Master Bonel's wife, the good monk recognises Richildis, whom he loved many years ago before he took his vows. And Master Bonel has been fatally poisoned by a dose of deadly monk's-hood oil from Cadfael's herbarium. The Sheriff is convinced that the murderer is Richildis' son Edwin, who had reasons aplenty to hate his stepfather. But Cadfael, guided in part by his tender concern for a woman to whom he was once betrothed, is certain of her son's innocence. Using his knowledge of both herbs and the human heart, Cadfael deciphers a deadly recipe for murder . . .

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In the summer of 1138, war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud takes brother Cadfael from the quiet world of his garden to the bloody battlefield. Not far from the safety of the Abbey walls, Shrewsbury Castle falls, leaving its ninety-four defenders loyal to the empress to hang as traitors. With a heavy heart, Brother Cadfael agrees to bury the dead, only to make a grisly discovery: ninety-five bodies lie in a row, and the extra corpse tells Cadfael that the killer is both clever and ruthless. But one death among so many seems unimportant to all but the good Benedictine. He vows to find the truth behind disparate clues: a girl in boys' clothing, a missing treasure, and a single broken flower - the tiny bit of evidence that Cadfael believes can most easily expose a murderer's black heart . . .

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In the winter of 1142, snow blankets the Bendictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul causing damage to the guest hall, and the brothers must repair its roof before the danger worsens. The treacherously icy conditions are to prove nigh fatal for Brother Haulin when he slips from the roof in a terrible fall, sustaining such grave injuries that he makes his deathbed confession to the Abbot and Brother Cadfael. A startling story of trespasses hard for God or man to forgive emerges. But Haulin does not die. On his recovery, he sets out on a journey of expiation, with Cadfael as his sole companion. An arduous trip, it leads to horrifying discoveries, and to murder...

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In the year of our Lord 1141, civil war over England's throne leaves a legacy of violence- and the murder of a knight dear to Brother Cadfael. And with gentle budstrewn May, a flood of pilgrims comes to the celebration of Saint Winifred at the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, carrying with it many strange souls and perhaps the knight's killer. Brother Cadfael's shrewd eyes see all: the prosperous merchant who rings false, and angelic lame boy, his beautiful dowess sister, and two wealthy penitents. In the name of justice, Cadfael decides to uncover the strange and twisted tale that accompanies these travellers. Instead he unearths a quest for vengeance, witnesses a miracle, and finds himself on a razor's edge between death and the absolution of love.

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THE ROSE RENT: A young woman, recently widowed bestows one of her properties on the Abbey of Shrewsbury. In return she expects an annual rent of a single rose. But such a beautfiul and wealthy woman is an attractive proposition for suitors. Someone it seems will stop at nothing to prevent the payment of the rose- not even murder.THE HERMIT OF EYTON FOREST: Ten year old Richard Ludel has become the new Lord of Eaton following the death of his father and is expected to make a marriage of convenience. But Richard befriends the young companion of Cuthred the Hermit who has recently taken up residence at Eyton Forest; a place of peace. But its tranquility is shattered by the discovery of a corpse.THE CONFESSION OF BROTHER HAULIN: Brother Haulin slips from the roof of the Abbey and makes his deathbed confession to the Abbot and Brother Cadfael. When Haulin recovers he sets on an arduous journey of expiation, with Cadfael as his sole companion. It is a journey which leads to some shocking revelations, and eventually to murder.

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The year is 1142, and all England is in the iron grip of a civil war. And within the sheltered cloisters of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, there begins a chain of events no less momentous than the political upheavals of the outside world. First, there is the sad demise of Richard Ludel, Lord of Eyton, whose ten year old son and heir, also named Richard, is a pupil at the Abbey. Supported by the Abbot Radulfus, the boy refuses to surrender his new powers to Dionysia, his furious, formidable grandmother. A stranger to the region is the hermit Cuthred, who enjoys the protection of Lady Dionysia, and whose young companion Hycacinth, befriends Richard. Despite his reputation for holiness, Cuthred''s arrival heralds a series of mishaps for the monks. When Richard disappears and a corspe is found in Eyton forest, Brother Cadfael is once more forced to leave the tranquility of his herb garden and devote his knowledge of human nature to tracking down a ruthless murderer.

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THE HERETIC''S APPRENTICE: In the summer of 1143 two visitors arrive at the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul- one dead and two very much alive. But when a violent death ensues, Brother Cafael is called once more to turn detective and solve the murder- but matters are complicated still further by the marvellous treasure box in Elave''s care...THE POTTER''S FIELD: During the ploughing of the Potters Field in October 1143 the grisly remains of a woman''s body are unearthed. Abandoned by her husband, the tenant potter, rumour had it that the woman had returned to her homeland- perhaps with a lover. But the discovery of the corpse on Abbey land raises all sorts of questions.THE SUMMER OF THE DANES: In April 1144 Brother Cadfael leaves his monastery once more representing the bishop on a matter of church diplomacy. Cadfael does not forsee trouble on this errand, but then becomes entangled in the affairs of Heledd, a young woman desperate to escape an arranged marriage, and in c

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It is winter 1139 and the tranquil life in the monastery gardens in Shrewsbury is again interrupted by violence. Raging civil war has sent refugees fleeing north from Worcester. Among them are two orphans from a noble family, a boy of thirteen and an eighteen year old girl of great beauty, with their companion, a young Benedictine nun. But the trio have disappeared somewhere in the wild countryside. Cadfael fears for these three lost lambs, but his skills are needed to tend to a wounded monk, found naked and bleeding at the roadside. Why this holy man has been attacked and what his fevered ravings reveal soon give brother Cadfael a clue to the fate of the missing travellers and he sets out to find them. The search will lead him to discover a chilling and terrible murder, and a tale of passion gone astray.

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Outside the pale of the abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, in September of the year of our Lord 1140, a priestly emissary for King Stephen has been reported missing. But inside the pale, Brother Cadfael's attention is turned on Meriet, a proud, secretive, nineteen-year-old novice who has been delivered to the abbey by his over-bearing father the Lord of Aspley, to begin a religious vocation. Meriet, meek by day, is so racked by dreams at night that his howl earns him the nickname of the Devil's Novice. Shunned and feared, Meriet is soon linked to the missing priest's fate. Only Brother Cadfael believes in Meriet's innocence, and only the good sleuth can uncover the truth before a boy's pure passion, not evil intent, leads a novice to the noose.

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In the summer of 1143, William of Lythwood returns to Shrewsbury in a coffin... his pilgrimage at last at an end. William's young attendant, Elave, accompanies the body and sets about trying to secure a burial place on the grounds of the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, despite William's once having been reproved for 'heretical views.'Elave too, has evidentally learned scepticism. After he drunkenly expresses heretical opinions, the mighty prelate Gerbert brings capital charges against him. The beautiful Fortunata, whom Elave adores, becoms a reluctant witness for the prosecution.When violent death follows, Brother Cadfael is once again called from his herbiary to aid his old friend Hugh Beringar, the sherriff. Cadfael's new task is twofold- there are charges of heresy to be rebutted as well as a murder to be solved...

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A MORBID TASTE FOR BONES. In 1137 the head of Shrewsbury Abbey decided to acquire the remains of St Winifred. Brother Cadfael is part of the expedition sent to her final resting place in Wales and they find the villagers passionately divided by the Benedictines' offer for the saint's relics. Canny, wise and all too worldly, Cadfael isn't surprised when this taste for bones leads to bloody murder. ONE CORPSE TOO MANY. In 1138, war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud takes Brother Cadfael from the quiet world of his garden to the bloody battlefield. Not far from the safety of the Abbey walls, Shrewsbury Castle falls, leaving its ninety-four defenders loyal to the Empress to hang as traitors. With a heavy heart, Brother Cadfael agrees to bury the dead, but discovers ninety-five bodies awaiting his attention.MONK'S-HOOD. Brother Cadfael's herb garden is flourishing under his care, then a local dignitary is poisoned with one of the herbalist's own concoctions and Cadfael finds he has to defend himself and another suspect whom he is sure is innocent.

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