Ellis Peters Books in Order: Cadfael, Felse and Edith Pargeter

Ellis Peters is the pen name of Edith Pargeter, the Shropshire writer who created Brother Cadfael, the Benedictine monk who solves murders in 12th-century Shrewsbury. The twenty Cadfael novels are often credited with popularising the historical mystery as a genre, and they inspired a much-loved ITV series starring Derek Jacobi.

Cadfael was only part of a remarkable career. Under her own name she wrote serious historical novels about medieval Wales and the Welsh border, and as Ellis Peters she wrote thirteen modern mysteries about the Felse family. This guide lists every one of her books, with the Cadfael reading order, her best historical fiction and where to start.

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About Ellis Peters

Early Life

Edith Mary Pargeter was born on 28 September 1913 in Horsehay, Shropshire, where her father was a clerk at the local ironworks. The family moved to Dawley, and she went to Dawley Church of England School and Coalbrookdale High School for Girls. She had Welsh ancestry, and Wales and its borderlands run through her fiction.

She never went to university, but she became a self-taught scholar of Shropshire and Welsh history. After school she worked in a chemist’s shop in Dawley, mixing medicines from herbs. She later said that some of Cadfael’s remedies came from those years.

Writing Career

Her first novel, the historical Hortensius, Friend of Nero, was published in 1936. In 1940 she joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service, working as a teleprinter operator at Devonport and then at Western Approaches headquarters in Liverpool. She reached the rank of petty officer and received the British Empire Medal in the 1944 New Year Honours.

A trip to Czechoslovakia in 1947 led to a lifelong love of the country. She learned Czech and published award-winning translations of Czech poetry and prose, including the work of the Nobel laureate Jaroslav Seifert.

She wrote crime fiction as Ellis Peters, a name taken from her brother Ellis and from Petra, the daughter of friends. The Felse novels began in 1951, and the first Cadfael book, A Morbid Taste for Bones, followed in 1977. The Cadfael series made her famous: by the time the nineteenth novel came out, sales had passed 6.5 million.

Final Years

She published the twentieth and last Cadfael novel, Brother Cadfael’s Penance, in 1994, the same year the ITV series began. She died at her home in Madeley, Shropshire, on 14 October 1995, at the age of 82. In 1997 a stained glass window of St Benedict was dedicated to her memory in Shrewsbury Abbey.

Writing Style

Pargeter’s mysteries are humane rather than hard-boiled. The Cadfael books care as much about daily life in a Benedictine abbey, the herb garden, the town of Shrewsbury and the civil war beyond its walls as they do about the crime. Cadfael himself, a former crusader and sailor who came to the cloister late in life, solves cases through patience, experience and compassion.

Her historical novels as Edith Pargeter are larger in scale and darker in tone. They are built on close knowledge of the Welsh Marches and of the princes of Gwynedd.

The Brother Cadfael Chronicles in Reading Order

Setting: Shrewsbury and the Welsh border, 1137 to 1145. Books: 20 novels and 1 story collection (complete).

The Cadfael Chronicles follow a Welsh Benedictine monk at the Abbey of Saints Peter and Paul in Shrewsbury during the Anarchy, the civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud. Each novel is a complete mystery, but the books move forward in time and the recurring characters grow from book to book, so they are best read in order.

For a summary of every book, the in-story dates and our tips on where to start, see the full Brother Cadfael reading order.

A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977)
One Corpse Too Many (1979)
Monk’s Hood (1980)
Saint Peter’s Fair (1981)
The Leper of Saint Giles (1981)
The Virgin in the Ice (1982)
The Sanctuary Sparrow (1983)
The Devil’s Novice (1983)
Dead Man’s Ransom (1984)
The Pilgrim of Hate (1984)
An Excellent Mystery (1985)
The Raven in the Foregate (1986)
The Rose Rent (1986)
The Hermit of Eyton Forest (1987)
The Confession of Brother Haluin (1988)
The Heretic’s Apprentice (1989)
The Potter’s Field (1989)
The Summer of the Danes (1991)
The Holy Thief (1992)
Brother Cadfael’s Penance (1994)

Short stories: A Rare Benedictine (1988) collects three Cadfael stories. The first is set in 1120 and shows how Cadfael came to Shrewsbury Abbey, so it is best read once you know the series.

Historical Novels as Edith Pargeter

These are her novels most firmly in the historical fiction tradition. All but the first are set in medieval England and Wales, and readers of Sharon Kay Penman will find a lot of familiar ground.

Hortensius, Friend of Nero (1936)

Her first novel, set in Nero’s Rome. Hortensius tries to save the Christian wife of his closest friend from death in the arena, a choice that puts him in danger from the emperor himself. For more novels of the period, see our list of the best Ancient Rome historical fiction.

The Heaven Tree Trilogy

Setting: the Welsh Marches in the 13th century. Books: 3 (complete). The three novels are also published together in one volume as The Heaven Tree Trilogy.

1. The Heaven Tree (1960)

The Welsh border in the reign of King John. Harry Talvace, a gifted young stone carver who trained as a mason in Paris, is hired by Ralf Isambard, Lord of Parfois, to build a great church on the border, just as the conflict between England and Wales grows more dangerous.

2. The Green Branch (1962)

Wales and the Marches, 1228 to 1231, when Henry III rules England and Llywelyn ap Iorwerth rules most of Wales. Harry’s son, young Harry Talvace, is drawn into the intrigues of Llywelyn’s court and into the old feud with the Lord of Parfois.

3. The Scarlet Seed (1963)

Young Harry is held at Parfois by Ralf Isambard, his family’s old enemy. Captor and captive are bound by hatred and a reluctant affection, while war builds between the English and the Welsh.

The Brothers of Gwynedd Quartet

Setting: Wales, 1228 to the 1280s. Books: 4 (complete).

The quartet tells the life of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the last native Prince of Wales, through the eyes of Samson, his fictional clerk and closest friend. The first book runs from their births in 1228 to 1258, when Llywelyn has brought most of Wales under his rule. Penman covers the same prince in her Welsh Princes trilogy, so the two make a fascinating pair; see our Sharon Kay Penman guide.

A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury (1972)

Published in the US as The Bloody Field. The story of Prince Hal, the future Henry V, torn between his duty to his father, Henry IV, and his friendship with Harry “Hotspur” Percy. It builds to the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403, keeping closer to the history than Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1.

The Marriage of Meggotta (1979)

The last novel she wrote under her own name. In the England of Henry III, Margaret (Meggotta) de Burgh, daughter of Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, grows up alongside Richard de Clare, heir to the earldom of Gloucester. The novel is based on the true story of their secret childhood marriage and her father’s fall from royal favour.

The George Felse Novels

Setting: mostly the fictional Midland county of Midshire, with some books set abroad. Books: 13 (complete, 1951 to 1978).

The Felse novels are modern mysteries, written as Ellis Peters long before Cadfael. They follow police detective George Felse, his wife Bunty and their son Dominic, and the focus moves between the three from book to book. They are not historical fiction, but Cadfael fans who want more of her storytelling will enjoy them. The second book, Death and the Joyful Woman, won the Edgar Award for Best Novel in 1963 and was adapted for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour the same year.

Fallen into the Pit (1951), first published under the name Edith Pargeter
Death and the Joyful Woman (1961)
Flight of a Witch (1964)
A Nice Derangement of Epitaphs (1965), US title Who Lies Here?
The Piper on the Mountain (1966)
Black Is the Colour of My True Love’s Heart (1967)
The Grass-Widow’s Tale (1968)
The House of Green Turf (1969)
Mourning Raga (1969)
The Knocker on Death’s Door (1970)
Death to the Landlords! (1972)
City of Gold and Shadows (1973)
Rainbow’s End (1978)

Other Books by Ellis Peters

Standalone mysteries and story collections:

Holiday with Violence (1952), first published under the name Edith Pargeter
Death Mask (1959)
The Will and the Deed (1960), US title Where There’s a Will
Funeral of Figaro (1962)
The Horn of Roland (1974)
Never Pick Up Hitchhikers! (1976)
The Trinity Cat and Other Mysteries (2006), a collection of her short stories

Nonfiction about her home landscape, written with Roy Morgan:

Shropshire (1992)
Strongholds and Sanctuaries: The Borderland of England and Wales (1993)

Other Books by Edith Pargeter

The Second World War Trilogy

These three novels follow Jim Benison through the Second World War. They were published from 1945 to 1947, so they are wartime fiction rather than historical fiction.

The Eighth Champion of Christendom (1945)
Reluctant Odyssey (1946)
Warfare Accomplished (1947)

Contemporary Novels and Stories

Iron-Bound (1936)
The City Lies Four-Square (1939)
Ordinary People (1941), also published as People of My Own
She Goes to War (1942)
The Fair Young Phoenix (1948)
By Firelight (1948), US title By This Strange Fire
The Coast of Bohemia (1950), nonfiction about a journey through Czechoslovakia
Lost Children (1951)
Most Loving Mere Folly (1953)
The Rough Magic (1953)
The Soldier at the Door (1954)
A Means of Grace (1956)
The Assize of the Dying (1958), two novellas; the title story was filmed as The Spaniard’s Curse (1958)
The Lily Hand and Other Stories (1965)

Early Books Under Other Pen Names

Before the war, Pargeter also wrote as Jolyon Carr, John Redfern and Peter Benedict.

Murder in the Dispensary (1938), as Jolyon Carr
Freedom for Two (1939), as Jolyon Carr
Masters of the Parachute Mail (1940), as Jolyon Carr
Death Comes by Post (1940), as Jolyon Carr
The Victim Needs a Nurse (1940), as John Redfern
Day Star (1937), as Peter Benedict

Hard to find: a few of these early books have been out of print for decades and have no current edition online. Your best chance is a secondhand bookshop, especially in Shropshire and the Welsh border, or a library that keeps older fiction.

Where to Start with Ellis Peters

Best First Book

Start with A Morbid Taste for Bones, the first Cadfael novel. It introduces the abbey, the town and Cadfael himself.

If You Want…

A pacier start: One Corpse Too Many, Cadfael’s second case, set during King Stephen’s siege of Shrewsbury in 1138.
An award winner: Monk’s Hood, which won the CWA Silver Dagger in 1980.
Epic medieval history: The Heaven Tree, the first book of her trilogy about the Welsh Marches.
Medieval Wales: Sunrise in the West, the first Brothers of Gwynedd novel.
A modern mystery: Death and the Joyful Woman, her Edgar Award winner.

Books by Time Period

Most of her historical fiction is set in medieval England and Wales; our Medieval Europe hub and the list of the best medieval historical fiction cover the wider period.

Ancient Rome

Hortensius, Friend of Nero (1st century AD)

The Anarchy (12th century)

The Brother Cadfael Chronicles (1137 to 1145, with one story set in 1120)

King John, Henry III and Llywelyn (13th century)

The Heaven Tree trilogy (from the reign of King John to the 1230s and beyond)
The Marriage of Meggotta (the reign of Henry III)
The Brothers of Gwynedd quartet (from 1228)

Lancastrian England (early 15th century)

A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury (to 1403)

Popular Series: The Brother Cadfael Chronicles

The Cadfael novels came late in Pargeter’s career, but they became the work that defines her. They pair a satisfying puzzle with a full picture of monastic life: the hours of prayer, the infirmary and herb garden, the abbey’s dealings with the town, and the claims of sanctuary against the law of the sheriff.

Cadfael is an unusual detective. He has been a crusader and a sailor, he has loved and lost, and he brings that experience to every case. The series also builds a cast readers come back for, especially his friend Hugh Beringar of the sheriff’s office.

The books drew international attention to Shrewsbury and its history and greatly increased tourism to the town. For every title with a summary and the in-story year, go to our Brother Cadfael reading order.

Awards and Recognition

British Empire Medal (1944): for her service in the Women’s Royal Naval Service.
Edgar Award (1963): Best Novel, from the Mystery Writers of America, for Death and the Joyful Woman.
CWA Silver Dagger (1980): for Monk’s Hood.
CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger (1993): for a lifetime’s contribution to crime writing.
OBE (1994): for services to literature, in the New Year Honours.
Honorary master’s degree: from the University of Birmingham.
The Ellis Peters Historical Award: created by the Crime Writers’ Association in 1999 in her memory, for the best historical crime novel of the year.

TV and Film Adaptations

The ITV series Cadfael ran for four series and thirteen episodes between 1994 and 1998, with Derek Jacobi as Brother Cadfael. Hugh Beringar was played by Sean Pertwee in the first series, Eoin McCarthy in the second and third, and Anthony Green in the fourth. Because the medieval abbey buildings in Shrewsbury no longer stand, the series was filmed in Hungary.

The thirteen adapted novels are One Corpse Too Many, The Sanctuary Sparrow, The Leper of Saint Giles, Monk’s Hood, The Virgin in the Ice, The Devil’s Novice, A Morbid Taste for Bones, The Rose Rent, Saint Peter’s Fair, The Raven in the Foregate, The Holy Thief, The Potter’s Field and The Pilgrim of Hate.

Earlier, The Assize of the Dying was filmed as The Spaniard’s Curse (1958), and Death and the Joyful Woman was adapted for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1963).

Legacy

Ellis Peters died in 1995, so no further Cadfael or Felse books are coming, and no other author has continued either series. Her influence is easy to see. The Cadfael books are often credited with popularising the historical mystery, the Crime Writers’ Association’s historical award carries her name, and Telford has an Ellis Peters Drive. Find more of them in our guide to the best historical mystery fiction.

Similar Authors You’ll Enjoy

Sharon Kay Penman: her Justin de Quincy mysteries, starting with The Queen’s Man, are set in the 1190s, and her Welsh Princes trilogy covers the same Welsh princes as Pargeter’s historical novels.
Elizabeth Chadwick: richly researched novels of the 12th and 13th centuries, including her William Marshal novels, for readers who want more of the Anarchy and its aftermath.
C.J. Sansom: the Shardlake series follows a lawyer through Tudor England, with an outsider detective as humane as Cadfael.
S.J. Parris: the Giordano Bruno series brings a philosopher-spy to Elizabethan England, with the same love of a closely drawn historical world.
Ken Follett: the first Kingsbridge novel is set during the same civil war as Cadfael, on a much larger canvas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Was Ellis Peters a real person?

Ellis Peters was the pen name of Edith Pargeter (1913 to 1995), an English writer from Shropshire. She took the name from her brother Ellis and from Petra, the daughter of friends, and used it for her crime fiction. Her historical novels were published under her own name.

How many Brother Cadfael books are there?

There are twenty Cadfael novels, from A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977) to Brother Cadfael’s Penance (1994), plus A Rare Benedictine (1988), a collection of three short stories. The series is complete.

In what order should I read the Cadfael books?

Read them in publication order, starting with A Morbid Taste for Bones. The publication order follows the in-story timeline, from 1137 to 1145. Each book is a complete mystery, but recurring characters develop across the series.

What is the best Ellis Peters book?

Monk’s Hood won the CWA Silver Dagger and is a favourite with many readers, and A Morbid Taste for Bones is the classic place to start.

How many books did Ellis Peters write?

Her own books include 20 Cadfael novels and a Cadfael story collection, 13 Felse novels and 10 historical novels under her own name. She also wrote more than 30 other novels, story collections and nonfiction books, some under early pen names, as well as many translations from Czech.

Did Ellis Peters write historical fiction besides Cadfael?

Yes. As Edith Pargeter she wrote the Heaven Tree trilogy, the Brothers of Gwynedd quartet about Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury, The Marriage of Meggotta and her first novel, Hortensius, Friend of Nero.

What time period are the Cadfael books set in?

They are set during the Anarchy, the civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud. The novels run from 1137 to 1145, and one short story goes back to 1120.

Is the Cadfael series accurate to history?

The series is built on real places and events, including Shrewsbury Abbey, the translation of the relics of Saint Winifred and the course of the civil war, while the murders and most of the characters are invented. Pargeter knew Shropshire and its history closely, and that knowledge shapes every book.

Are the Cadfael books suitable for teenagers?

Yes, for most older teens. They are gentle mysteries with little graphic violence and no explicit sex, although each book centres on a murder.

Was Brother Cadfael made into a TV series?

Yes. ITV’s Cadfael starred Derek Jacobi and ran for thirteen episodes between 1994 and 1998, adapting thirteen of the twenty novels. It was filmed in Hungary.

What are the George Felse books?

They are thirteen modern mysteries written as Ellis Peters between 1951 and 1978. They follow police detective George Felse, his wife Bunty and their son Dominic, and the second book, Death and the Joyful Woman, won the Edgar Award.

Why are some Edith Pargeter books hard to find?

Several of her early novels from the 1930s and 1940s have been out of print for decades and have no current edition. Secondhand bookshops and libraries are the best places to look for them.

Will there be more Cadfael books?

No. Ellis Peters died in 1995 after completing the twentieth novel, and no other author has continued the series.

Conclusion

Ellis Peters gave historical fiction one of its most beloved detectives, and Edith Pargeter gave it some of the finest novels ever written about medieval Wales. Together they make one of the richest bibliographies in the genre.

Begin with A Morbid Taste for Bones and follow Cadfael through the Brother Cadfael reading order. When you have finished, try The Heaven Tree to see the other side of her talent.