St. Peter’s Fair

The Fourth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael

By: Ellis Peters

Narrated by: Johanna Ward

St. Peter’s Fair was a grand event, attracting merchants from across England and beyond. With the pause in the Civil War during the summer of 1139, the fair would bring some much-needed gaiety to Shrewsbury.

But a wealthy merchant is found murdered in the river Severn. Brother Cadfael offers to help the merchant’s niece, Emma; but while he searches for the killer, two more men are murdered—like her uncle, apparently for the valuables they possessed at their death. Cadfael races to save the young woman, knowing that during Civil War, betrayal can come from any direction, and even good intentions can kill.

©1981 Ellis Peters (P)1997 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Each addition to the series is a joy. Long may the Chronicles continue.”

“Wonderful history lessons wrapped up in a mystery and served with style and grace.”

“Stylishly authentic…a graceful and informative…case for Peters’ engaging, herb-gardening monk.”

Poor Choice of Narrator

Unfortunately, this is a great story, let down by poor narration. Ms. Ward's accents wander around all over the place and her pronunciation of Welsh words and place names is often just plain wrong. She even has Brother Cadfael pronounce his own name wrongly on several occasions! I would have thought a familiarity with Welsh pronunciation would have been essential for at least one of the production team, but apparently not. . .

The narration also failed to convey the dynamism of Cadfael's character. Yes, he's a middle-aged monk, but the whole point of the character is that he's actually the least-likely monk you'd ever come across.

I shall be checking out the versions of Stephen Thorne.

Great Whodunnit!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I would recommend this book to anyone. It's great for those who like mysteries, history, suspense, good characters, and a good read.

What was one of the most memorable moments of St. Peter's Fair?

So many moments come to mind, the moment when they find the bottle, the time they have to break in to the booth, the last conversation Cadfael has with the Welsh merchant. The list gets longer as I think on it.

Which scene was your favorite?

You just asked me that! See above.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Extreme? how about

Any additional comments?

You don't have to start at the beginning of the series,

Narration not good

If you love this series as I do stick with Steven Thorne as a narrator.

Marred by poor narration

In the US, they're allowed a better narrated version of this. In australia, we are stuck with Johanna, probably due to licencing issues. Bless her, she does her best, but has no idea how to approach any of the necessary accents. In some places she rambles, possibly because some of the linguistics of the sentences are a bit complicated for her. Definitely worth a listen, but whoever chose her as the reader, did a poor job of casting, in my opinion.