The Holy Thief
First edition
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| Author | Ellis Peters |
|---|---|
| Series | Brother Cadfael |
| Genre | Mystery novel |
| Publisher | Headline |
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Published in English
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1992 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) & audio book |
| Pages | 282 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 26856865 |
| Preceded by | The Summer of the Danes |
| Followed by | Brother Cadfael's Penance |
The Holy Thief is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters set in 1144–1145. It is the 19th and penultimate volume of the Cadfael Chronicles, first published in 1992 (1992 in literature).
It was adapted for television in 1998 by Carlton Media for ITV.
Heavy rains flood the river which in turn floods the Abbey, threatening the precious reliquary of Saint Winifred. When the waters recede, the saint is gone, beginning a long search with tangled motives, including a murder that challenges the monks.
This novel was well-received when it was published. Some commented on the finely wrought pose, and the author's ability to bring the reader to another time, making that time vividly alive. Another says the plot is "Less predictable and far more complex" than the prior novels in this series.
On 16 September 1144, Geoffrey de Mandeville's reign of terror in the Fens comes to an end when Geoffrey succumbs to an infection, brought on by a minor graze from an arrow. King Stephen had worked for a year to confine the marauding within a ring of forts and castles. In the heat of August, the one-time Earl of Essex went out without his chain mail and helmet at Burwell, northeast of Cambridge, where an archer's arrow reached its target. Besides being stripped of his lands by King Stephen, he and his eldest son were excommunicate for his seizure of Ramsey Abbey, which he used as his headquarters. There was no place for him to be buried, so rejected was he from England and his religion. Empress Maud gave the title back to the younger namesake son, but she could not grant the lands – a fairly empty gesture. The rest of England was relieved as they learned by the passing of small bands of brigands looking for places to lay low, that they could again venture out without fear of seizure or murder by his organised band of brigands and marauders.
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