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The Cadfael Chronicles books in order

Ellis Peters

The Cadfael Chronicles is a series of 21 books by Ellis Peters: 5,161 pages, about 95 hours of reading. Shown in the numbered order.

21
books
5,161
pages
95 hours
to read them all
190 days
at 30 minutes a day
1 A Morbid Taste for Bones 1977 4.0 h 2 One Corpse Too Many 1979 4.1 h 3 Monk's Hood 1980 4.9 h 4 Saint Peter's Fair 1981 4.9 h 5 The Leper of Saint Giles 1981 4.2 h 6 The Virgin in the Ice 1982 4.3 h 7 The Sanctuary Sparrow 1983 4.7 h 8 The Devil's Novice 1983 5.1 h 9 Dead Man's Ransom 1984 4.1 h 10 The Pilgrim of Hate 1984 5.0 h 11 An Excellent Mystery 1985 4.3 h 12 The Raven in the Foregate 1986 4.4 h 13 The Rose Rent 1986 4.4 h 14 The Hermit of Eyton Forest 1987 4.4 h 15 The Confession of Brother Haluin 1988 4.1 h 16 A Rare Benedictine: The Advent of Brother Cadfael 1988 2.8 h 17 The Heretic's Apprentice 1989 4.7 h 18 The Potter's Field 1989 4.7 h The Summer of the Danes 1991 5.2 h 19 The Holy Thief 1992 5.3 h 20 Brother Cadfael's Penance 1994 5.4 h

Bar height shows length. Books without a number have no number in our records.

The books

  1. 1

    A Morbid Taste for Bones 1977 4.0 h

    12th-century Shrewsbury monks go to Wales to recover a 7th-century saint’s relics, and encounter opposition from the relics’ current keepers.

  2. 2

    One Corpse Too Many 1979 4.1 h

    The year is 1138.

  3. 3

    Monk's Hood 1980 4.9 h

    A stiff-necked old man deeds his estate to Shrewsbury Abbey, then dies via poison in a meal sent over by the abbey.

  4. 4

    Saint Peter's Fair 1981 4.9 h

    St. Peter's Fair is a grand, festive event, attracting merchants from across England and beyond.

  5. 5

    The Leper of Saint Giles 1981 4.2 h

    Brother Cadfael must travel to the heart of a leper colony to root out the secret to a savage murder.

  6. 6

    The Virgin in the Ice 1982 4.3 h

    Cadfael attends to a brother beaten and left for dead, and searches for missing siblings and their nun escort.

  7. 7

    The Sanctuary Sparrow 1983 4.7 h

    An itinerant entertainer accused of theft and assault gets sanctuary in the abbey, giving Cadfael 40 days to figure out what happened.

  8. 8

    The Devil's Novice 1983 5.1 h

    A priestly envoy disappears, a skittish novice arrives and Cadfael works out what it all means.

  9. 9

    Dead Man's Ransom 1984 4.1 h

    In February of 1141, men march home from war to Shrewsbury, but the captured sheriff Gilbert Prestcote is not among them.

  10. 10

    The Pilgrim of Hate 1984 5.0 h

    The abbey's celebration of Saint Winifred becomes the locus for duplicitous characters, including Cadfael, associated with the Anarchy, an assassination, and general mischief.

  11. 11

    An Excellent Mystery 1985 4.3 h

    Shrewsbury hosts two refugee brothers with a history that could bedevil the Benedictines, but gives Cadfael something to do.

  12. 12

    The Raven in the Foregate 1986 4.4 h

    Christmas, 1141 AD.

  13. 13

    The Rose Rent 1986 4.4 h

    The Abby has been giving one rose as rent for a wealthy widow's property.

  14. 14

    The Hermit of Eyton Forest 1987 4.4 h

    This Cadfael mystery is more about mediaeval law and crime, and the first civil war in England, with the Empress Matilda and King Stephen as the belligerents, than about detection…

  15. 15

    The Confession of Brother Haluin 1988 4.1 h

    A near-death experience brings to light a tangled lineage.

  16. 16

    A Rare Benedictine: The Advent of Brother Cadfael 1988 2.8 h

    These three short stories form a prequel to the Ellis Peters series featuring Brother Cadfael, a medieval monk detective.

  17. 17

    The Heretic's Apprentice 1989 4.7 h

    This book examines what true piety is.

  18. 18

    The Potter's Field 1989 4.7 h

    In October of 1142, a local landlord makes a present of the Potter's Field to the local clergy.

  19. The Summer of the Danes 1991 5.2 h

    In the summer of 1144, a strange calm has settled over England--almost a peace.

  20. 19

    The Holy Thief 1992 5.3 h

    Situational twins abound as murder follows theft while abbeys recover from disruption.

  21. 20

    Brother Cadfael's Penance 1994 5.4 h

    In the fall of 1145, the younger son of Robert of Gloucester switches sides, abandoning his father and the cause of his aunt, the Empress Maud.

How much is left

After book 1, A Morbid Taste for Bones about 91 hours left
After book 2, One Corpse Too Many about 87 hours left
After book 3, Monk's Hood about 82 hours left
After book 4, Saint Peter's Fair about 77 hours left
After book 5, The Leper of Saint Giles about 73 hours left
After book 6, The Virgin in the Ice about 68 hours left
After book 7, The Sanctuary Sparrow about 64 hours left
After book 8, The Devil's Novice about 59 hours left
After book 9, Dead Man's Ransom about 54 hours left
After book 10, The Pilgrim of Hate about 50 hours left
After book 11, An Excellent Mystery about 45 hours left
After book 12, The Raven in the Foregate about 41 hours left
After book 13, The Rose Rent about 36 hours left
After book 14, The Hermit of Eyton Forest about 32 hours left
After book 15, The Confession of Brother Haluin about 28 hours left
After book 16, A Rare Benedictine: The Advent of Brother Cadfael about 25 hours left
After book 17, The Heretic's Apprentice about 20 hours left
After book 18, The Potter's Field about 16 hours left
After The Summer of the Danes about 11 hours left
After book 19, The Holy Thief about 5 hours left

Reading the whole series

About 94 hours 37 minutes

All 21 books, 5,161 pages. Estimated at 250 words a minute.

190 days (about 28 weeks) at 30 minutes a day

Estimate based on 275 words per page.