Edith Pargeter

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Ellis Peters

Edith Mary Pargeter OBE (born September 28, 1913 in Horsehay, England , † October 14, 1995 in Telford , Shropshire ) was an English writer. She wrote under the pseudonym Ellis Peters . Pargeter was best known for her historical detective novels about the monk Brother Cadfael . Her books have appeared in 15 languages ​​and over 20 countries worldwide and have garnered numerous awards.

life and work

It is often wrongly stated that Edith Pargeter was a native of Welsh. However, she was born in the English village of Horsehay in Shropshire, between Ironbridge and Telford. Edith Pargeter first learned the trade of pharmacist, whose knowledge would later prove useful for her detective novels. From 1940 she worked in the communications department of the Women's Royal Navy Service , for which she was awarded the British Empire Medal . She wrote down these experiences in 1942 in the book She goes to War .

She began writing novels in the 1930s, taking advantage of both her interest in historical materials and her professional knowledge of medicines. Her first work, the historical novel Hortensius, Friend of Nero was published in 1936, followed two years later by the first detective novel, Murder in the Dispensary . While she had still published the Hortensius under her own name, she chose various pseudonyms such as Jolyon Carr , Peter Benedict , John Redfern and Ellis Peters for the following . Edith Pargeter has been a full-time writer since 1945. In 1951, she began a successful series of thirteen crime novels about police officer George Felse and his family.

However, her greatest success as an author came more than 20 years later with her historical detective novels about the figure of the Benedictine brother Cadfael , which she wrote under the stage name Ellis Peters. Edith Pargeter's other works include the Heaven Tree trilogy, the historic Jim Benison trilogy and her four novels about Llwelyn Gwynedd ( The Brothers of Gwynedd ). In addition, she was always interested in the Czech people and their literature. She translated 16 works from Czech into English. In 1968 she received the gold medal on ribbon from the Czech Society for International Relations .

Edith Pargeter remained unmarried all her life. In September 1995 she suffered a stroke from which she did not recover. She died on October 14, 1995 in her Shropshire home.

Awards

Brother Cadfael

The 20 novels and 3 short stories take place in England between 1120 and 1145, at the time of the throne dispute between Stephan of Blois and Matilda of England . The setting is the Benedictine Abbey of Shrewsbury in Shropshire on the border with Wales , near Edith Pargeters own home, and the events are based on the historical chronicle of the abbey. The main character is the former crusader Cadfael, who found his way to the monastery at the age of 40 and looks after ointments and medicines as well as all sorts of mysterious deaths. Cadfael is both a doctor and a pharmacist; the boundaries are fluid here, in keeping with the times. Although he is theoretically only responsible for the monastery and the monastery settlement, many people in Shrewsbury and the surrounding area also seek help from him because of his expertise. His best friend is Sheriff Hugh Beringar, with whom he shares compassion for the weak, outcasts, abused serfs and other disenfranchised. While the main characters Cadfael and the sheriff Hugh Beringar are of purely fictional origin, numerous characters in the novels have real historical models, from Stephan von Blois (= King Stephan ) and Matilda of England (= Empress Maude ) to Bishop Henry von Blois and the abbots Heribert and Radulfus to Cadfael's constant opponent, the meticulous Prior Robert Pennant .

The Cadfael Tales

  • 1977 A morbid taste for bones (In the name of the saints) (May 1137)
  • 1979 One corpse too many (August 1138)
  • 1980 Monk's hood (December 1138)
  • 1981 St. Peter's fair (The Riot at the Fair) (August 1139)
  • 1981 The leper of St. Giles (October 1139)
  • 1982 The virgin in the ice (November / December 1139)
  • 1983 The sanctuary sparrow (April 1140)
  • 1983 The devil's novice (September 1140)
  • 1984 Dead man's ransom (ransom for a dead man) (February / March 1141)
  • 1984 The pilgrim of hate (June 1141)
  • 1985 An excellent mystery (A very special case) (August 1141)
  • 1986 The raven in the foregate (December 1141)
  • 1986 The rose rent (May 1142)
  • 1987 The hermit of Eyton forest (The mysterious hermit) (October 1142)
  • 1988 The confession of Brother Haluin (Brother Cadfael and the Strange Girl) (March 1143)
  • 1989 The heretic's apprentice (Brother Cadfael and the heretic's apprentice) (June 1143)
  • 1989 The potter's field (Brother Cadfael and the secret of the beautiful dead) (October 1143)
  • 1991 The summer of the Danes (Brother Cadfael and the Black Celtic Woman) (May 1144)
  • 1992 The holy thief (February 1145)
  • 1994 Brother Cadfael's penance (November 1145)

Ellis Peters also published a volume with three Cadfael short stories:

  • 1988 The rare benedictine ( The light on the road to Woodstock , Ger. 1996)

The light on the road to Woodstock tells of Cadfael entering the monastery in 1120. The gift of the miser takes place in December 1135 (before In the Name of the Saints ), The Eyewitness in February 1140 (between The Virgin in the Ice and Refuge in the Monastery ).

The Cadfael television series

Between 1994 and 1996 a total of 13 Cadfael novels were filmed with the renowned British actor Sir Derek Jacobi in the title role, but not in the chronological order of the novels, which Ellis Peters carefully observed. This led to some inconsistencies in the course of the series.

  • Episode 01: One corpse too many (Vol. 2)
  • Episode 02: Refuge in the Monastery (Vol. 7)
  • Episode 03: The Wedding Murder (Vol. 5)
  • Episode 04: The Monk's Herb (Vol. 3)
  • Episode 05: The Devil's Novice (Vol. 8)
  • Episode 06: The uprising at the fair (Vol. 4)
  • Episode 07: The Virgin in the Ice (Vol. 6)
  • Episode 08: The Rose Murder (Vol. 13)
  • Episode 09: In the Name of the Saints (Vol. 1)
  • Episode 10: Murderous Christmas (Vol. 12)
  • Episode 11: The Holy Thief (Vol. 19)
  • Episode 12: Brother Cadfael and the Secret of the Beautiful Dead (Vol. 17)
  • Episode 13: Pilgrims of Hate (Vol. 10)

The last three episodes were not shown on German television and also not dubbed into German; in the now published DVD box they are only available in English.

Not filmed:

  • Ransom for a Dead (Vol. 9)
  • A very special case (vol. 11)
  • The mysterious hermit (vol. 14)
  • Brother Cadfael and the Strange Girl (Vol. 15)
  • Brother Cadfael and the apprentice heretic (vol. 16)
  • Brother Cadfael and the Black Celtic Woman (Vol. 18)
  • Brother Cadfael's Penance (Vol. 20)

Tourist importance

Today, tourists can explore Shrewsbury, “In the Footsteps of Brother Cadfael”, on several routes marked by metal plaques on the floor with a monk's footprint. Guided tours are also offered.

Other works (selection)

Inspector George Felse

  • 1951 False Prophets (Fallen into the Pit)
  • 1961 Death and the Joyful Woman
  • 1964 Flight of a Witch
  • 1965 The Riddle of the Treverra Crypt (A Nice Derangement of Epitaphs)
  • 1966 The Piper on the Mountain
  • 1967 Murder on the Guitar (Black is the Color of my True Love's Heart)
  • 1968 Green Widows on Sunday (The Grass-Widow's Tale)
  • 1969 The House of Green Turf
  • 1969 The Raga of Violent Death (Mourning Raga)
  • 1970 The Knocker on Death's Door
  • 1972 The Indian Natter (Death to the Landlords!)
  • 1973 City of Gold and Shadows
  • 1978 The Call of the Nightingale (Rainbow's End)

Others

  • 1936 Hortensius, Friend of Nero
  • 1938 Murder in the Despensary
  • 1939 The City Lies Four-Square
  • 1942 She goes to War
  • 1947 By Firelight (US title By This Strange Fire )
  • 1950 The Coast of Bohemia (non-fiction book about her first trip to the Czech Republic)
  • 1959 The Death Mask
  • 1960 The Will and the Deed laughed
  • 1960 The Builder of Albion (The Heaven Tree ; first part of the Heaven Tree trilogy)
  • 1962 The Builder's Legacy (The Green Branch ; second part of the Heaven Tree trilogy)
  • 1962 Figaro is murdered (The Funeral of Figaro)
  • 1963 The Return of the Builder (The Scarlet Seed ; third part of the Heaven Tree trilogy)
  • 1965 The Lily Hand and Other Stories (short story collection)
  • 1974 artist bad luck (The Horn of Roland)

literature

  • Robin Whiteman: The World of Brother Cadfael . Heyne, Munich 1996 ISBN 3-453-10852-3 . With an introduction by Ellis Peters. The book provides extensive historical background and information on the Cadfael series.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In the footsteps of Brother Cadfael ( October 29, 2013 memento in the Internet Archive ) on the Shropshire Council website .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Pargeter, Edith
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pargeter, Edith Mary (real name); Peters, Ellis (pseudonym); Redfern, John (pseudonym); Carr, Jolyon (pen name); Benedict, Peter (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English crime novelist
DATE OF BIRTH September 28, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Horsehay , Shropshire, England
DATE OF DEATH October 14, 1995
Place of death Telford , Shropshire, England