The Rose Rent

by Ellis Peters

Overview

The sleuthing monk unravels a thorny case of murder in this “accomplished whodunit meticulously wrought with a wealth of medieval detail” (Booklist).

A late spring in 1142 brings dismay to the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, for there may be no roses by June 22. 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—and is found murdered beside the hacked rosebush.
 
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. 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 tortuous than the widow’s thorny bushes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781504067539
Publisher:	Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
Publication date:	08/10/2021
Series:	Brother Cadfael Series , #13
Pages:	239
Sales rank:	152,429
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Ellis Peters is a pseudonym of Edith Mary Pargeter (1913–1995), a British author whose Chronicles of Brother Cadfael are credited with popularizing the historical mystery. Cadfael, a Welsh Benedictine monk living at Shrewsbury Abbey in the first half of the twelfth century, has been described as combining the curious mind of a scientist with the bravery of a knight-errant. The character has been adapted for television, and the books drew international attention to Shrewsbury and its history.
 
Pargeter won an Edgar Award in 1963 for Death and the Joyful Woman, and in 1993 she won the Cartier Diamond Dagger, an annual award given by the Crime Writers’ Association of Great Britain. She was appointed officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1994, and in 1999 the British Crime Writers’ Association established the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger award, later called the Ellis Peters Historical Award.

Editorial Reviews

"Masterful . . . An accomplished whodunit meticulously wrought with a wealth of medieval detail.” —Booklist
 
“Brother Cadfael, in his thirteenth adventure, is as keen and human as ever. The Rose Rent is one of his most satisfactory chronicles.” —Financial Times
 
“The joys in the Peters mysteries lie in the telling—the historical detail, the view of medieval life in town and monastery, the lively characterization and the author’s graceful, literate prose.” —The Washington Post

From the Publisher

Another remarkable, highly evocative novel.

Time

The joys in the Peters mysteries lie in the telling -- the historical detail, the view of medieval life in town and monastery, the lively characterization and the author's graceful, literate prose.

Washington Post

Each book is an elegant little mystery, gracefully written, cleverly plotted and richly detailed, full of the sounds and the color and the customs of twelfth-century England.

Cleveland Plain Dealer

The books have the freshness of a new world at dawn...Peters weaves a complex, colorful, and at times quite beautiful tapestry.

Houston Post

Brother Cadfael, in this thirteenth adventure, is as keen and human as ever. The Rose Rent is one of his most satisfactory chronicles.

Financial Times

In this 13th mystery in the Brother Cadfel series, a beautiful widow rents part of her estate to the brothers of Shrewsbury Abbey for the modest sum of one rose from a certain bush, per year, and all are happy with this arrangement for three years. But then Brother Eluric,the young monk whose job it is to deliver the rose on the day of St. Winifred's translation (the pre-arranged rent-paying day) asks to be excused from the task (he finds he's starting to fall in love with the widow); he is later found murdered near the recently ruined rose rent bush. The abbey is thrown into a panic; not only has an innocent young monk been killed, but with no rose to pay the rent, the contract is canceled and the widow's wealth multiplies remarkably. Soon, the widow herself disappears, and Brother Cadfel begins his search for her and for Eluric's murderer, casting his eye over a large collection of suitors, all of whom would gain greatly from a match with the widow. Peters (The Raven in the Foregate is in fine form in this 13th book, with a leisurely mystery that once again creates a 12th century world that is both comfortable and strange, and a series of delightful, interesting characters. (June 18)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly