Masterful Medieval Mystery - A Morbid taste for Bones by Edith Pargeter
A Book Review
From the outset, you probably wouldn't (I certainly did not) think that a singular monk could wear as many hats as the mid-12th-century Benedictine monk Brother Cadfael. Having now been set right by Ellis Peters, or Edith Pargeter, I'm more than happy own up to my ignorance.
“I do believe I begin to grasp the nature of miracles! For would it be a miracle, if there was any reason for it? Miracles have nothing to do with reason. Miracles contradict reason, they strike clean across mere human deserts, and deliver and save where they will. If they made sense, they would not be miracles.”
Ellis Peters, A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977)
In “A Morbid Taste for Bones” Ellis Peters introduces us to a man of the cloth, originally from Wales but now, after a long and varied career in the secular world that took him to the Holy Land, to the seas and into war, settled in the Abbey of Shrewsbury. This monastery in the landlocked county of West Midlands is where Brother Cadfael serves his community as a herbalist among other tasks that befell him.
The past is a foreign country in more ways than one and the sub-genre of historical mystery is a delightful way to flesh out the world gone by we know only from treaties of academic origin.
The inciting incident of “A Morbid Taste for Bones” comes in the form of divine vision when Cadfael's brothers in Christ testify to having received a message from a Welsh saint.
This interruption to the monastic life develops into a mission for the monks to claim the saint's remains as a relic for their order and Cadfael is sent along for the ride as an interpreter.
True to the genre conventions, however, at the end of their journey awaits something entirely different - a dead body, the discovery of which prompts Brother Cadfael to stretch to the role of pre-industrial forensics examiner.
What's to follow is fun for any fan of mysteries and leisured crime fiction.
As a writer both in technical sense and thematically, Ellis Peters/Edith Pargeter is nothing short of a master, and her characters feel true and alive. Not to mention funny.
“Meet every man as you find him, for we’re all made the same under habit or robe or rags. Some better made than others, and some better cared for, but on the same pattern all.”
Ellis Peters, A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977)
I'm not the one judge about the historical accuracy of the work, but others have gratulated “A Morbid Taste For Bones” and other instalments of the Brother Cadfael series for the level of historical insight and accuracy that comes through in the details of the narrative.
The 1100s of Brother Cadfael is a world so far removed from us, but at least Brother Cadfael's character professes adequately modern sensibilities to be approachable.
It comes as no surprise to me that Edith Pargeter, under her Ellis Peters nom-de-plume is widely recognised as an influential populariser of the historical mystery genre, even if she didn't invent the concept.
As a series opener in the Cadfael Chronicles, “A Morbid Taste For Bones” is a particularly strong one and well-deserving of the praise it has garnered. Its measured pace is balanced remarkably well with the comparable conciseness of the work.
The wise and well-read people of Goodreads agree — based on almost 38 thousand ratings and more than 1700 reviews, “A Morbid Taste For Bones” averages very close four stars, which certainly demonstrates great affinity and regard for Pargeter’s work.
Put is succinctly, the first Brother Cadfale novel,“A Morbid Taste for Bones” is a tasteful cosy mystery in a historical setting that gets better and better the further you allow yourself to be drawn. In a nutshell, it's essential reading for anyone who enjoys well-written crime stories with a little bit of depth and thematic consistency.
And a bit of history on the side, of course.
Its measured pace is balanced remarkably well with the comparable conciseness of the work.
Four and a half star rating and an urgent recommendation are in order.
Edith Pargeter's Brother Cadfael - A Great Detective?
