St. Peter's Fair

By: Ellis Peters

Narrated by: Johanna Ward

St. Peter's Fair is a grand, festive event, attracting merchants from across England and beyond. There is a pause in the civil war racking the country in the summer of 1139, and the fair promises to bring some much-needed gaiety to the town of Shrewsbury. Until, that is, the body of a wealthy merchant is found murdered in the river Severn. Was Thomas of Bristol the victim of murderous thieves? And, if so, why were his valuables abandoned nearby?

Brother Cadfael, that shrewd but kindly monk, offers to help the merchant's lovely niece Emma. But while he is searching for the killer, Thomas of Bristol's wares are ransacked and two more men are murdered. Emma almost certainly knows more than she is telling - as others will soon realize. Cadfael desperately races to save the young girl, knowing that in a country at war with itself, betrayal can come from any direction - and even good intentions can kill.

St. Peter's Fair is the fourth chronicle of Brother Cadfael, of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, at Shrewsbury.

©1981 Ellis Peters (P)1997 Blackstone Audiobooks

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.