My reviewer criteria. I like light, entertaining novels. I like smaller scale stories rather than epics. I like character focused novels featuring pleasant characters, with a minimum number of unpleasant ones. I greatly value clever and witty writing. I like first person, or close third person narratives. I dislike a lot of "head jumping" between POVs and flashbacks. I want a story, not a puzzle. While I am not opposed to violence, I dislike gore for the sake of gore. I find long and elaborate fight, action, and battle sequences tedious. Plot holes and things that happen for the convenience of the author annoy me. And I fear I'm a born critic in that I don't mind pointing out what I don't like in a story. However, I lay no claim to be the final arbitrator of style and taste, you need to decide for yourself what you like or dislike in a book.
Your opinions are always welcome. Comment below.
The Raven in the Foregate by Ellis Peters A
Every book has a range of reader reactions and ratings, often from one star to five. Clearly the tastes of readers vary considerably. Still, knowing that, I can only say that I'm almost certain everyone will enjoy Edith Pargeter's (writing as Ellis Peters) Cadfael stories either as mysteries, romances, or as historical fiction. For some reason, these stories are something special for me. They are, in my opinion, almost perfect stories in a world were almost perfect is about as good as you can expect. So what are those reasons?
First, I like small scale stories. I'm not a fan of epic tales and sagas. This story is the fourth story set in one year 1141, the "Anarchy." In December of that year. Important and interesting events are happening around the abbey of Shrewsbury, which affects their lives, but the focus is on the inhabitants of that monastery, the city, and the surrounding area. Secondly, the stories feature two very likeable main characters, the wise 60 year old former Crusader now a monk, Cadfael, and the young but wise Sherriff, Hugh Beringar, as well the various monks of the abbey, along with new, interesting, sometimes charming, sometimes slightly sinister, characters arriving at the abbey for each story - all of them well drawn in words. "Well drawn with words" describes every aspect of the books, from characters, historical setting and the life in the monastery, to the mystery and action. Thirdly, they seem to be written with a deep knowledge and understanding of the historical period they are set in, with lots of period detail to give them an air of authenticity. They are written in a style that is both readable and suggestive of the time period, which is hard to do. Fourthly, I like the stories themselves. For sure, they all follow a formula. You have your mystery, usually a murder, or what appears could be one, to solve. Each one, however, is different, with a rich, well developed background that is often related to what is going on in the world beyond Shrewsbury and the abbey so it ties the small story into the larger history of the period. One other element of the formula is that there is always a young couple who usually fall in love at first sight, but whose happiness is threatened by the mystery, so that Cadfael not only solves the mystery, but smooths the road to true love by doing so.
And lastly, the writing... Take this descriptive passage of Christmas eve as an example. I find it evocative, without being flowery or ornate. It is simple, concrete, but evocative. My ideal.
A soft, sleety rain had fallen earlier, but by that hour in the evening it was growing very cold, and there was frost in the air. The low, moist sky had cleared and grown infinitely tall, there were stars snapping out in it almost audibly, tiny but brilliant. By morning the roads would be treacherous, and the frozen ruts a peril to wrenched ankles and unwary steps. There were still people abroad in the Foregate, most of them hurrying home by now, either to stoke up the fire and toast their feet, or to make ready for the long night in church. And as Cadfael crossed the bridge towards the town gate, the river in full, silent dark motion below, there was just enough light left to put names to those he met, coming from their shopping laden and in haste to get their purchases home. They exchanged greetings with him as they passed, for he was well known by his shape and his rolling gait even in so dim a light. The voices had the ring of frost about them, echoing like the chime of glass.
Or this description of a taciturn man;
A good man, with his own preferences and peculiarities, and certainly no talker, but if you needed him, he was there, and like his master, would not send you away empty.
Those who could not be easy with his mute company at least respected him, and those who could included the most innocent and guileless. Children and dogs would sit companionably on the steps of the north porch with him in summer weather, and do all the talking necessary to such a friendship, after their own fashion, while he listened.
I admire the use of simple concrete details to create a picture without resorting to ornate or flowery language may be why I love her writing.
Well, I suppose that I've gone on long enough about Edith Pargeter's writing and should talk about the story at hand.
As I mentioned, the story is set around Christmas in 1141. King Stephan has been freed in exchange for one of the Empress Maud most important backers who had been captured by the King's forces led by King Stephan's wife, the Queen. Now it is the Empress Maud who is on the defensive, holed up in the west of England, fortunes once again reversed. The long civil war, thus continues. This civil war, by the way, is one that RRR Martin drew on for his Game of Thrones books.
This story starts with the death of the popular parish priest of the abbey, and the appearance of his replacement, a strict and unpleasant priest who proves to be very unpopular, so unpopular that he quickly ends up dead. That's the mystery. But we also have our romance and ties to the ongoing civil war interwoven in it, which I won't spoil. Just read the book. This one was another excellent addition to the series. It is really amazing how she maintains the quality and originality of each book in the series.
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