Booklog 2/2025: Ellis Peters: Brother Cadfael’s Penance – Cadfael #20 - Audiobook

[jacey]

Audiobook read by Derek Jacobi. I love the Cadfael stories about the gentle but perceptive monk who has a crusading past. This one is especially intriguing as Cadfael goes to rescue the adult son he learned about in a previous story. He hadn't revealed himself previously, so this time you're wondering when/if all will be revealed. The son was fighting on the side of the Empress Maude/Mathilda in the Stephen/Mathilda war for the crown, and when a castle he was in was given over to the enemy he 'disappeared' and was not listed for ransom as other knights were. There's a peace meeting in Coventry which comes to nothing, but a murder impacts Cadfael's search. Suffice it to say there's a satisfying ending. Derek Jacobi is the perfect narrator for the Cadfael books. That’s not to say I disliked Philip Madoc narrating earlier books, but Jacobi brings Cadfael to life. He is Cadfael.

Comments

[jacey]

Agreed, but as a reader you can continue the story in your head and take it in any direction you wish. I always liked the first few TV Cadfaels with Sean Pertwee playing Hugh Berenger. When they changed actors, the new Hugh never felt quite right. Derek Jacobi, of course, was perfect.