I first encountered Ellis Peters as a teenager; with the highly entertaining character Brother Cadfael my introduction not only to the world of monks, but also to the historical crime genre.
Pictured is Book 6 in the series of 20, and my favourite as it introduces Cadfael’s son, who quickly became the most swoon-worthy of swoon-worthiness; the epitome of ‘tall, dark and handsome’ in my teenager mindset.
But as much as I love these stories, I cannot in good faith include them in this list of 30 must-reads. But that’s only because they are eclipsed by her Heaven Tree trilogy, written under her own name, Edith Pargeter.
Some would say that these three (The Heaven Tree, The Green Branch and The Scarlet Seed) are not as refined as the Cadfael series, being her earlier work, before her writing style matured. I utterly disagree.
I love, love, love this trilogy. And count myself blessed to have discovered such gorgeous, literary writing, at such a young age.
So – any Ellis Peters / Edith Pargeter fans out there? And which series do *you* prefer?
Have a fantastic day, dear reader!
— KRidwyn