Book Review: The Hermit of Eyton Forest (Chronicles of Borther Cadfael #14) by Ellis Peters
(Three Stars)
“Not much love in all that household to be gained or lost. But good haters, every one.”
Formulaic. Love at first sight conquers all. Little relation to the main sequence of the Cadfael timeline or English history.
Nice to find the occasional self-centered, hypocrite who isn’t a villain; Pargeter credits the nobility with a genteelness which pushes credibility.
“His fame, banned from being spread openly, went about by neighborly whispers, like a prized secret to be exulted in privately but hidden from the world.”
Pargeter explores the role and position of hermits in medieval society, a concept so foreign to contemporary culture that she might as well have been writing fantasy.
“Nothing is more pleasing and engaging than the sense of having conferred benefits. Not even the gratification of receiving them.”
The introduction of a doughty ten-year old is a refreshing departure from “the usual suspects.”
“… having done what was most needful, and content to wait patiently and passively until grace should be manifested.”
As a Matter of Fancy 