The Leper of Saint Giles

Written by Ellis Peters

Narrated by Johanna Ward

Setting out for the Saint Giles leper colony outside Shrewsbury, Brother Cadfael has more pressing matters on his mind than the grand wedding coming to his abbey. Yet as fate would have it, Cadfael arrives at Saint Giles just as the nuptial party passes the colony’s gates. He sees the fragile bride, looking like a prisoner between her two stern guardians, and the bridegroom-an arrogant, fleshy aristocrat old enough to be her grandfather-and he quickly discerns that this union may be more damned than blessed.     

Indeed, a savage murder will interrupt the May-December marriage and leave Brother Cadfael with a dark, terrible mystery to solve. The key to the killing-and a secret-is hidden among the lepers of Saint Giles. Now, Brother Cadfael’s skills must ferret out a sickness not of the body, but of a twisted soul.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio
• Release date: Jul 20, 2010
• ISBN: 9781441799371

Ellis Peters

Ellis Peters (the pen name of Edith Pargeter, 1913–1995) is a writer beloved of millions of readers worldwide and has been widely adapted for radio and television, including her Brother Cadfael crime novels, which were made into a series starring Derek Jacobi. She has been the recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger, Edgar Award for Best Novel, Agatha Award for Best Novel, and was awarded an OBE for her services to literature in 1994.

Reviews for The Leper of Saint Giles

[phoenixcomet · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The more I read of Ellis Peter's Brother Cadfael series, the more I appreciate the consistent feel of historical accuracy and her style of writing. Iveta de Massard, 18, is being ransomed off as bride to Huon de Domville, 60 by her guardians in exchange for her lands, the boy who loves her, Joscelin Lucy, deigns to rescue her from this fate. When Domville ends up dead and Joscelin accused, Brother Cadfael gets on the scent to find who really murdered Domville. This takes him to the leper colony at St. Giles and some surprising actions.

[walterhistory · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In Bk 5, A marriage of convenience is all that matters between the bride's relatives & the bridegroom. An interested party, however, hopes to disrupt the marriage ceremony. When the bridegroom ends up dead on the day of the marriage service, the interested party hides out in a leper colony where he meets a leper who has more than a passing interest in the bride. As brother Cadfael probes deeper, he discovers a web of deceit & then another murder beyond the walls of the leper colony serves to expose the murderer.

[fdholt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The leper of Saint Giles is the fifth chronicle of Brother Cadfael and is not a disappointment to Ellis Peters' fans. Lepers, a wedding, an elderly bridegroom, a young girl, her aunt and uncle, and 2 lovers all intertwine in this tightly held mystery. Not a problem in the end for the good Brother.As with many volumes in this series, there is a map. To better understand the story use all the maps in the previous books as well as this one.

[antiquary_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

On the eve of marrying Iveta, an unhappy young granddaughter of a famous crusader, an unpleasant old man is murdered. The murderer is beautifully appropriate

[amelish · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Original title for U.S. release (1981): Leapers, Lepers & Love Affairs. Overly whimsical, confusing; did not sell.

[angelab86 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of my favorite Brother Cadfael stories. An heiress is about to be married off to a much older man (against her will, of course); when her intended is found murdered, the man she is in love with is accused, and Cadfael works to sort out the truth.

[kaulsu · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book was written out-of-order, almost. Half way through, when I had given up trying to figure out what happened to the Sheriff's deputy, Hugh Beringar, Cadfael suddenly thinks about him. More likely an astute editor realized he should have been there....but then Cadfael wouldn't have been quite the detective?Nice treatment of the persons suffering from the death sentence (in those days) of Hansen's Disease. Otherwise not really worth the reading. It did not forward the historic setting of the war between the two siblings over the throne.

[smik_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The war between Maude and Stephen fades into the background and other social elements absorb our attention: the presence of leprosy in England, the legacy of the Crusades, and the convention of marrying young women to elderly men.The plot was a bit predictable although when the murder occurred the identity of the murderer was not obvious. Cadfael uses both his skills of deduction and a little intuition to solve the case.The narration was a good solid effort but at times the voice was a bit soporific.

[mamzel_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Cadfael returns to investigate the mysterious murder of a man slated to marry the next day to a woman much younger than him. That she is the sole heir of her father's estates and had been under the care of an unscrupulous couple adds to the mystery. The young man accused of the murder hides in a community of lepers that are cared for by the monks which gives Cadfael the time to discover the truth behind the murder.This series continues to delight as it gives the reader a peek into the life of a monastery in the Middle Ages.

[fuzzi_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Adequate entry into the series. Cadfael was his usual curious self, but I guessed WhoDunIt early on.

[meredy_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Six-word review: Medieval monastery generates consistently satisfying mysteries.Extended review:Once again we have Brother Cadfael sympathetically befriending young lovers while seeking an elusive culprit in order to clear an innocent falsely accused. The pattern of unlamented victims is becoming familiar enough that it's getting pretty easy to predict which despicable obstacle to the happiness of others is likely to wind up in a coffin in Shrewsbury.Nonetheless, there are surprising enough twists and turns, beguiling enough characters, and fascinating enough details of setting to keep me coming back. I regularly read a fair number of dense, heavy tomes; these quick, reliable puzzles in more than competent prose are a welcome leavening in my literary diet.

[goth_marionette · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A bit predictable for a mystery but I love the characters and that kept me reading it.

[carolvanbrocklin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Young girl about to be married to creepy old man so that her relatives can 1) get rid of her and 2) become wealthy. He is killed and young man who was in love with girl is framed for theft and suspected for murder. He hides in a leper colony quite ingeniously. Nicely done with all being well by the end of it compliments of Brother c.

[cbl_tn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When an older man marries a woman young enough to be his granddaughter, today's cynic assumes she's married him for his money. In Cadfael's England, Huon de Domville, a baron “well past the prime”, is set to marry 18-year-old heiress Iveta de Massard for her wealth and lands. Iveta is in love with one of his squires, and the young lovers haven't given up all hope of finding a way out for Iveta. However, no one was prepared for what happened next.Peters avoids the faults of some historical fiction authors whose characters seem to have modern world views. I think the difference is that other writers often emphasize attitudes and opinions, while Peters focuses on emotions and character traits like love and hatred, compassion and cruelty, fear and comfort, trust and betrayal. Even though I could see early on where the plot was heading and guessed many of the characters' secrets, there were still some surprises along the way. I haven't read many writers who are able to tell a story so well and resolve the problems so satisfactorily. Highly recommended.

[nbmars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This fifth book in the medieval mystery series involving Brother Cadfael is my favorite thus far.It is 1139, and Brother Cadfael is in charge of the herbarium at the abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul of Shrewsbury. His usual assistant, Brother Mark, is serving for a year with the lepers at the nearby asylum of Saint Giles.Unlike the common citizens, who shun the lepers, the monks are happy to serve them. As Cadfael reflects, “he knows of leprosies of the heart and ulcers of the soul worse than any of these he poulticed and lanced with his herbal medicines.”The lepers, like the rest of Shrewsbury, are caught up in the excitement of the wedding of a famous baron and his beautiful, much younger, bride-to-be. But a vicious murder halts the proceedings, and Cadfael, the unofficial coroner and detective of the abbey, must solve the crime. The focus turns to the asylum, since the place everyone wants to avoid is a perfect place to hide.Evaluation: I love learning about medieval healing arts and customs via this “whodunnit” series. Moreover, without modern technology, the characters have nothing but their minds to help solve crimes, and sharing in their ratiocinations is most entertaining.

[seoulful · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This fifth chronicle in the Brother Cadfael mystery series takes us into the medieval thinking and practice toward lepers. We go inside the lazarhouse of St. Giles where the monks from the nearby Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul staff the house of mercy. The plot circles around the impending forced marriage of a young innocent heiress and a powerful, malevolent man long past his prime. Once more we watch Brother Cadfael, the Abbey herbalist and resident sleuth follow the leads to solve two murders which have a curious connection to the lepers of St. Giles. A great pleasure to experience the beautiful language and characterizations of Ellis Peters.

[joycepa_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In October, 1139, the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul is preparing to host and celebrate a wedding between two members of powerful, landed houses: Huon de Domville and Isveta de Massard, the granddaughter of a famous paladin of the First Crusade. Brother Cadfael and Brother Mark watch the processions of the wedding parties from the lazaretto of St. Giles, a hospice for lepers a short distance removed from Shrewsbury and the abbey; Brother Mark is spending a year there as its medical attendant and Brother Cadfael is making one of his periodic visits to replenish the salves and unguents that Brother Mark uses with such compassion and tenderness on his charges. A new guest resides at the hospice, an old man named Lazarus. This is nothing remarkable, since lepers commonly wandered between such hospices until unable to travel.It's clear, in short order, that not all are in favor of the wedding. Isveta is very young and obviously distressed at the thought of marrying a many nearing 60--one who, furthermore, has all the marks of a brutal person; he deliberately and unprovokedly strikes Lazarus with his whip as teh groom's party passes St. Giles. One of de Domville's young squires, Joscelin Lucy, is desperately in love with Isveta, who requites his feelings. Joscelin attempts one last meeting with Isveta, in Brother Cadfael's herb garden, before the wedding. The couple are discovered by Isveta's dragon aunt, Agnes Picard and Joscelin is thrown out of de Domville's entourage, reported to the baron by Isveta's equally nasty uncle, Godfrid. In addition, Joscelin faces accusations of theft of a valuable necklace, a wedding gift from the baron to Isveta.When the wedding does not take place due to the inconvenient murder of de Domville, Joscelin is the immediate suspect. Apprehended, he escapes and an intensive hunt rouses the countryside. But Brother Cadfael is less than convinced of Joscelin's guilt. Joscelin hides at St. Giles as he searches for a way to rescue Isveta from the clutches of her conniving aunt and uncle.Peters devotes a significant part of the plot to Joscelin's stay at St. Giles, which does provide some illumination of the way lepers lived in the 12th century. It's also a clever plot device to keep her hero hidden until she winds up to the climax. The plot itself is good, with the expected twist(s) at the end. Peters, by this fifth book in the series, has settled into her style of writing and the prose is both gentle and workmanlike; she does evoke a nice sense of medievality without much strain. What is welcome in this book is a map of Shrewsbury and its environs.Usually, Peters' heros are young, handsome, and naive, while the women are much more worldly, and quite strong. She reverses herself somewhat in this book. Joscelin is not quite so wide-eyed and innocent, but Isveta is simply there to provide the necessary impetus to the plot--she is the epitome of the helpless female. Granted that this series is not long on complex characterization, but Peters usually manages to do much better than this with her female characters.We do meet old favorites--Abbot Radulfus and Brother Mark, the latter being the most fleshed-out character in the book aside from Cadfael.Brother Cadfael, too, has not really developed much in 5 books, but then he doesn't need to. He still is a delightful character in this gentle, lightweight, but entertaining series.Highly recommended.

[stnylan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Probably my favourite of all the Brother Cadfael series, for probably no very good reason other than personal affection. It basically follows the same sort of pattern the entire series does, there is murder and true love in trouble, and Cadfael helps resolve the murder, free the innocent, and see love flourish. But he also in this book learns the limit of his powers. A rare thwarting!

[armyangel1986 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of my favorite Brother Cadfael stories. An heiress is about to be married off to a much older man (against her will, of course); when her intended is found murdered, the man she is in love with is accused, and Cadfael works to sort out the truth.