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The Heretic's Apprentice audiobook cover art

  • The Heretic's Apprentice

  • The Sixteenth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
  • By: Ellis Peters
  • Narrated by: Sir Derek Jacobi
  • Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
  • Abridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 52
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 34
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 35

It is June in the Year of Our Lord 1143 when Elave, young clerk to William of Lythwood, returns from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with his elderly master's body. His mission is twofold, to bury William in his home abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul, and to deliver a dowry to William's adopted daughter Fortunata. But Elave, suspected of harboring views inimical to church doctrine, is held for ecclesiastical trial. And when Aldwin, the Lythwood family clerk hired in Elave's absence, is stabbed to death, Elave is incarcerated not only for heresy, but for murder. Fortunata's dowry, an intricately carved box with mysterious contents, holds the key to the mysteries that spring up around Elave and the Lythwood family. Shrewd and patient, Brother Cadfael is at his best here. Performed by Tony Award-winning actor Derek Jacobi, this sixteenth chronicle of Brother Cadfael is sure to delight old friends and new fans.

  • 4 out of 5 stars

  • Simon Prebble Preferred

  • By Joanna on 09-05-14
The Potter's Field audiobook cover art

  • The Potter's Field

  • The Seventeenth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
  • By: Ellis Peters
  • Narrated by: Sir Derek Jacobi
  • Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
  • Abridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 58
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 43
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 42

It is the Summer and Autumn of the Year of Our Lord 1143 in which the gentle monk, Brother Cadfael, is forced to leave the tranquility of his herb garden to find the whole truth behind the murder of a young women whose body was unexpectedly discovered in a newly tilled field recently acquired by the Shrewsbury Abbey in a land exchange.

  • 3 out of 5 stars

  • Audible listeners deserve unabridged books

  • By JAJ on 05-13-18
The Summer of the Danes audiobook cover art

  • The Summer of the Danes

  • The Eighteenth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
  • By: Ellis Peters
  • Narrated by: Sir Derek Jacobi
  • Length: 3 hrs and 12 mins
  • Abridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 25
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 20
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 22

Brother Cadfael finds himself caught up in a bitter feud between two royal brother whose armies teeter on the brink of civil war.

Brother Cadfael's Penance audiobook cover art

  • Brother Cadfael's Penance

  • The Twentieth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
  • By: Ellis Peters
  • Narrated by: Sir Derek Jacobi
  • Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins
  • Abridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 71
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 53
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 55

It is nearing the end of the Year of Our Lord 1145. A monk vows to abandon all earthly ties, but how can Brother Cadfael obey when his son is captured in battle? Olivier de Bretagne is one of many young knights taken prisoner in the current power dispute in Britain, but he is also Cadfael's son, and the monk cannot be objective. A council is planned at Coventry to try to appease the warring factions, and Brother Cadfael asks leave to attend, knowing he must do all in his power to find and deliver his son. This most thrilling and humane of Ellis Peters's novels is filled with excitement, intrigue, and a meticulously depicted medieval background.

  • 2 out of 5 stars

  • Disappointed in Abridged

  • By Joanna on 10-18-12
The Bookseller's Tale audiobook cover art

  • The Bookseller's Tale

  • Oxford Medieval Mysteries, Book 1
  • By: Ann Swinfen
  • Narrated by: Philip Battley
  • Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 454
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    4.5 out of 5 stars 415
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Oxford, Spring 1353. When young bookseller Nicholas Elyot discovers the body of student William Farringdon floating in the river Cherwell, it looks like a drowning. Soon, however, Nicholas finds evidence of murder. Who could have wanted to kill this promising student? As Nicholas and his scholar friend Jordain try to unravel what lies behind William's death, they learn that he was innocently caught up in a criminal plot.

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • Held my interest, excellent historical background

  • By Marcheta on 04-07-17
The Adventures of Brother Cadfael audiobook cover art

  • The Adventures of Brother Cadfael

  • A Collection of Chronicles
  • By: Ellis Peters
  • Narrated by: Sir Derek Jacobi
  • Length: 17 hrs and 51 mins
  • Abridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 156
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars 145
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars 144

A collection of chronicles including The Summer of the Danes, Brother Cadfael's Penance, The Heretic's Apprentice, Monk's Hood, The Potter's Field, Saint Peter's Fair.

  • 1 out of 5 stars

  • destructive abridgements

  • By walterlouis422 on 03-20-16

Publisher's Summary

On a spring evening in 1140 Shrewsbury, the midnight matins at the Benedictine abbey suddenly reverberate 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 in 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 a local goldsmith’s son. The cold light of morning, however, will show his supposed victim still lives, although a strongbox lies empty. Brother Cadfael believes 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 not even the threat of hanging can stop.
©1983 Ellis Peters (P)1998 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic Reviews

“Murderous though they be, the Ellis Peters books set in twelfth-century Britain have the freshness of a new world at dawn…Peters weaves a complex, colorful, and at times quite beautiful tapestry. Medieval of course.” (Houston Post)
“Medieval England comes marvelously alive.” (Washington Post)

What members say

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Disappointing

Would you try another book from Ellis Peters and/or Vanessa Benjamin?

Yes Ellis Peters is a first rate story teller. Yes I have enjoyed Vanessa Benjamin when the story fits her vocal range.

What didn’t you like about Vanessa Benjamin’s performance?

Females sound like children imitating grownups when attempting to reproduce male voices. The storyline is too masculine for a female narrator. Predominantly male characters.

Was The Sanctuary Sparrow worth the listening time?

No

Any additional comments?

To be fair males also fare poorly when attempting to voice female characters.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful