Ellis Peters: The Sanctuary Sparrow

Ellis Peters: The Sanctuary Sparrow (USA 2021)

From the Publisher:
Medieval monk Brother Cadfael races to save a young man he believes is falsely accused of robbery -- in the Silver Dagger Award-winning mystery series.

In the gentle Shrewsbury spring of 1140, the midnight matins at the Benedictine abbey suddenly reverberate with an unholy sound -- a hunt in full cry. Pursued by a drunken mob, the quarry is running for its life. When the frantic creature bursts into the nave to claim sanctuary, Brother Cadfael finds himself fighting off armed townsmen to save a terrified young man.

Liliwin, a wandering minstrel who performed at the wedding of a local goldsmith's son, has been accused of robbery and murder. The cold light of morning, however, will show his supposed victim, the miserly craftsman, still lives, although a strongbox lies empty. Brother Cadfael believes Liliwin is innocent, but finding the truth and the treasure before Liliwin's respite in sanctuary runs out may uncover a deadlier sin than thievery -- a desperate love that nothing, not even the threat of hanging, can stop.

The Sanctuary Sparrow is the seventh book in the Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, featuring a "wily veteran of the Crusades." The historical mystery series earned Ellis Peters a Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger Award -- and a legion of devoted fans (Los Angeles Times).

Ellis Peters: The Sanctuary Sparrow. The Seventh Chronicle of Brother Cadfael. Mysteriouspress.com / Open Road Integrated Media, ISBN: 9781504067508 (July, 2021), 286 p., $25.99.

Ellis Peters: The Sanctuary Sparrow (USA 2014)

From the Publisher:
Medieval monk Brother Cadfael races to save a young man he believes is falsely accused of robbery -- in the Silver Dagger Award-winning mystery series.

Ellis Peters: The Sanctuary Sparrow. The Seventh Chronicle of Brother Cadfael. Mysteriouspress.com / Open Road Integrated Media, ISBN: 9781497671256 (August, 2014), eBook, 8 MB (ca. 236 p.), $11.99.

Ellis Peters: The Sanctuary Sparrow (USA 1995)

From the Publisher:
In the gentle Shrewsbury spring of 1140, the midnight matins at the Benedictine abbey suddenly reverberate with an unholy sound -- a hunt in full cry. Pursued by a drunken mob, the quarry is running for its life. When the frantic creature bursts into the nave to claim sanctuary, Brother Cadfael finds himself fighting off armed townsmen to save a terrified young man.

Accused of robbery and murder is Liliwin, a wandering minstrel who performed at the wedding of a local goldsmith's son. The cold light of morning, however, will show his supposed victim, the miserly craftsman, still lives, although a strongbox lies empty. Brother Cadfael believes that Liliwin is innocent, but finding the truth and the treasure before Liliwin's respite in sanctuary runs out may uncover a deadlier sin than thievery -- a desperate love that nothing, not even the threat of hanging can stop.

"Medieval England comes marvelously alive." -- Washington Post
"Murderous though they be, the Ellis Peters books set in 12th-century Britain have the freshness of a new world at dawn... Peters weaves a complex, colorful and at times quite beautiful tapestry. Medieval of course." -- Houston Post

Ellis Peters: The Sanctuary Sparrow. The Seventh Chronicle of Brother Cadfael, of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul at Shrewsbury. The Mysterious Press / Warner Books, ISBN: 0446404292 (January, 1995), 214 p., $5.50.

Ellis Peters: The Sanctuary Sparrow (UK 1994)

From the Publisher:
Sudden drama strikes the Benedictine monastery at Shrewsbury when a young man, pursued by a lynching mob, claims sanctuary just in time to save his own life. The accusation is robbery and murder: yet Brother Cadfael senses his innocence and sets out to solve yet another tangle of human passions where love - both in its brighter and darker aspects - plays its inevitable part.

ELLIS PETERS, RECIPIENT OF THE CRIME WRITERS' ASSOCIATION/CARTIER DIAMOND DAGGER AWARD
And don't miss other titles from the Chronicles of Brother Cadfael also available from Warner Futura - see inside for details.

Ellis Peters: The Sanctuary Sparrow. The Cadfael Chronicles VII. London: Warner Futura, 1994, ISBN: 0751511072, 271 p., £4.99.

Ellis Peters: The Sanctuary Sparrow (USA 1988)

From the Publisher:
"A WINNER... Ellis Peters' medieval whodunits starring Brother Cadfael, the former crusader turned Benedictine monk, are among the most inventive and satisfying in current fiction... Peters weaves her tale expertly." -- San Diego Union

When Liliwin, a poor birdlike young minstrel, reaches the monastery of St. Peter and St. Paul only a few steps ahead of a wildly angry mob, the brothers offer him forty days' sanctuary. Then Brother Cadfael, herbalist and amateur detective, learns that Liliwin's accusers want to hang him for a crime he swears he never committed... and Cadfael begins to investigate.

First on his list are the Aurifabers, who had hired Liliwin to perform at young Daniel Aurifaber's wedding. A family of goldsmiths, they are firmly united in accusing Liliwin of robbing their strongbox. But Cadfael digs deeper and discovers that what divides the family-greed, betrayal, revenge, and murder -- is stronger still...

With little proof but much faith on his side, the kindly Cadfael is determined to solve this delightfully twisted mystery.

The SANCTUARY SPARROW
"A neat, unassuming mystery with an engaging hero and a charmingly exotic (but not too exotic) background... will reward the attention of fans of the genre looking for something slightly out of the ordinary." -- The Washington Post Book World

Ellis Peters: The Sanctuary Sparrow. A Medieval Murder Mystery. Who is terrorizing the goldsmith's household with robbery, assault, and murder? Fawcett Crest / Ballantine, ISBN: 0449206130 (September, 1988), 214 p., $3.50.

Ellis Peters: The Sanctuary Sparrow (UK 1984)

'impeccable background' -- The Times
'as usual, an excellent plot and convincing background' -- Times Literary Supplement
'robust medieval atmosphere' -- Observer
'Charm is not usual in murder mysteries, but Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael stories are full of it.' -- Mail on Sunday

In the bestselling tradition of THE NAME OF THE ROSE

Ellis Peters: The Sanctuary Sparrow. A Medieval Whodunnit. Futura, ISBN: 0708825842 (November, 1984), 221 p., £1.95.

Ellis Peters: The Sanctuary Sparrow (USA 1983)

From the Publisher:
On a cold nighe in AD 1140, Calfiel and the brothers of the Benedictine house of St. Peter and St. Paul are abruptly roused from sleep by the cries of a boy who reaches the protection of the monastery walls just in time to save his life from a lynch mob. An itinerant acrobat and jongleur, the boy, Liliwin, is accused of robbery and mur der. But luckily for him it is the Church's obligation to give him sanctuary for forty days before he is consigned to the law. It is luckier still that Cadfael is unconvinced of the boy's guilt. With his customary perspicacity the Benedictine begins his investigation -- one that draws him deep into the penumbral world of a family called Aurifaber.

Within these walls, or close by them, more mysteries and tantalizing clues lead Cadfael into a sticky web of family politics, sinister secrets, and a desperate plot. But in this tangle Cadfael will encounter more than violence and bizarre accident; for at the heart of this drama, love in its darker and brighter incarnations will play a critical part.

The seventh in Ellis Peters's distinguished series of Cadfael novels, The Sanctuary Sparrow is an excellent brew of suspense, intrigue, and romance with enough surprises and twists to satisfy the most demanding reader. Here Cadfael is his usual wry but reassuring self even as he happens across a particularly grim case.

About the Author
Ellis Peters is a pseudonym for Edith Pargeter, author of many books under her own name. The recipient of the C.W.A. Silver Dagger Award, she is also well known as a translator of poetry and prose from the Czech. Miss Pargeter lives in Shropshire, England.

Ellis Peters: The Sanctuary Sparrow. A Novel of Medieval Suspense. New York: William Morrow, 1983, ISBN: 0688022529, 221 p., $12.50.

Ellis Peters: The Sanctuary Sparrow (UK 1983)

From the Publisher:
In 1140 AD Brother Cadfael, gardener to the Benedictine monastery.of Shrewsbury, encounters sudden drama within the walls of the monastery itself. In the night, a young man, pursued by a lynching mob who accuse him of robbery and murder. reaches the protection of the monastery walls just in time to save his own life - and to claim sanctuary. It is an obligation of the church to protect him for forty days before he is handed over to the law.

The young man is called Liliwin. He is small and thin, a journeying acrobat and jongleur. While strongly maintaining his innocence, he is rash enough to tell lies to Cadfael, lies which are soon uncovered.

The trouble started within the walls of the 'burgage' belonging to the family called Aurijebar and it is within these walls, or close by them, that further mysteries and clues arise. Naturally friction develops in a houschold that seems to be cursed with apparently fortuitous calamities. Yet there is no obvious suspect. Cadfael pursues his investigations in search of truth and justice, having convinced himself that Lilivin is innocent.

In the tangle of human passions involved love plays its ipevitable part - love in its brighter and its darker aspects.

Ellis Peters's very distinguished series of Cadfael novels have been widely admired and widely read. One gained a CA Silver Dagger Award. Here Cadfael is his usual reassuring self, the plot is subtle and moves fast leading to a most dramatic climax.

Ellis Peters: The Sanctuary Sparrow. The Seventh Chronicle of Brother Cadfael. London: Macmillan, 1983, ISBN: 0333342399, 221 p., £6.95.