The Leper of Saint Giles

by Ellis Peters

I’ve mentioned a few times that I’m making my way through the Cadfael mysteries. Whenever the quarantimes get too overwhelming, I head off to Wales-adjacent England in the 1100s to hang out with a former solider now monk who brews wine and herbal remedies, solves murders, and often unites star-crossed lovers (and sometimes flirts with ladies, too). There’s a soothing, slow-paced atmosphere to the Cadfael series, like the literary version of dust sparkles over a field in the late afternoon sun.

My current favorite of the few I’ve read is The Leper of Saint Giles, the fifth book in the series. I liked book one, A Morbid Taste for Bones a fair bit, because it introduces how wily and quick-thinking Cadfael is, and how much monastery bureaucracy the dude has to deal with on the daily (and how much drinking wine helps in all things) (and to that I say, AMEN). The Leper of Saint Giles was even more fun because the romance is more central to the narrative. In fact, the motivation for the murder is hidden by the culprit behind a forbidden love between a rich young woman controlled by her shitful guardians, about to be married off to an equally shitful older dude, and shitful older dude’s squire, who is (oh noes!) in love with said young heiress. There’s courtly yet secret proclamations, sneaking around, and, of course, a murder to solve. The pace of the Cadfael novels can be uneven, with some very slow parts, but this one starts out rather quickly and picks up momentum as it progresses. I had a very hard time putting it down.

This particular story also worked so well for me because of how the young man up to his neck in peril hides in a nearby leper colony currently being managed by a young monk who used to be Cadfael’s assistant in the herbal gardens. The people who live in the colony are as wily as Cadfael, with a few at nearly boss-level wily-skills, and they help in subtle, sneaky ways I found delightful. And as per any mystery and these in particular, by the end, murder is solved, shitful people outwitted, true love wins the day, Cadfael figures all sorts of things out, wine is quaffed, and all is well.

As Julia aka Mizzelle pointed out in the comments to a podcast episode, the peacefulness I find in the series might seem at odds with some elements of the setting, especially the peril of illnesses that Cadfael treats (to say nothing of all the murder) and the anarchy of uncertainty with Empress Maud and King Stephen battling over the English throne. In The Leper of Saint Giles, there is also the pervasive sadness of a painful illness that forces many into isolation, and the dedicated, emotionally difficult but vital work of the community to care for and comfort those who are ill.

The fact that life in these novels continues in incremental, gentle steps, whether those steps be the pattern of daily prayers for the monastery, the change of seasons, the preparation of wine and remedies, or the steps to solving murders and uniting people who love one another, is deeply reassuring, and deeply appreciated. There’s mystery, secondary romances, wily monks, and the drinking of wine, and I have sixteen more books to go. Excellent.

– SB Sarah

Historical: European, Mystery/Thriller