Derek Jacobi Books

"I must learn to fly a Hurricane and then I must take it to Greece and rejoin the squadron.
When I got this news I was in Ismailia, a large RAF aerodrome on the Suez Canal. A Flight-Lieutenant said, 'You can have a couple of days to learn how to fly it, then you take it to Greece.'
'Fly that to Greece?' I said.
'Of course.'
'Where do I stop to refuel?'
'You don't.' he said. 'You go non-stop.'
'How long will that take?'
'About four and a half hours,' he said.
Even I knew that a Hurricane had fuel for only one and a half hours' flying, and I pointed that out to the Flight-Lieutenant. 'Don't worry about that,' he said. 'We're fitting extra fuel tanks under the wings.'
'Do they work?'
'Sometimes they work,' he said smirking. 'You press a little button and if you're lucky a pump pumps petrol from the wing-tanks into the main tank.'
'What happens if the pump doesn't work?'
'You bale out into the Med and swim,' he said.
'No,' I said. 'Be serious. Who picks me up?'
Nobody.' he said. 'It's a chance you have to take.'"
- Roald Dahl (GOING SOLO p. 119)

In this marvelous autobiographical sequel to BOY: TALES OF CHILDHOOD, Roald Dahl entertains and delights by recalling his experiences just prior to and during WW2 writing of the many adventures he had: traveling by ship from England to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika (aboard the SS Mantola) and observing the bizarre habits of his fellow-British-passengers while on his way to work for the Shell Oil Company there, avoiding certain death from the venom of the Green Mamba, joining the Royal Air Force at the start of the war, learning to fly at an RAF airbase in Nairobi, Kenya, and crashing a Gladiator bi-plane in the Western Desert of Egypt, finally winning his wings and becoming a fighter pilot with the RAF in Africa and Greece, and then surviving dog-fights in the skies above Greece against German ME 109s. While many of Dahl's adventures were harrowing, others were very humorous.

I won't spoil the fun for anyone in this brief review by writing too much. Pick up a copy of this wonderful little book and enjoy! You'll just have to take my word for it that you won't be bored or disappointed. Several maps and quite a few photos are included.

As another reviewer wrote, it's a shame Mr. Dahl didn't write another autobiographical sketch about his life as a writer of children's books before he died in 1990. That, I'm sure, would have been an absolute pleasure to read.

Another writer once told me that one of the most important elements to be found in a memoir is a "likeable" narrator. Roald Dahl is perhaps one of the MOST likeable of narrators. Modest to a fault and blessed with a very sly and subtle sense of humor, the story Dahl tells in GOING SOLO, his sequel to BOY, is perhaps one of the most readable memoirs of modern times. His story of the quick and almost informal training he received at a flying school in Africa shortly after Great Britain entered WWII, is hair-raising and nearly impossible to believe, except you do believe, because you trust this man. At six foot six inches tall, Dahl was physically quite unsuited to be a fighter pilot, noting that when seated in the various planes he flew, his knees were nearly under his chin and he had to hunch over to fit beneath the plane's canopy. But fly he did, even after surviving one horrific crash in the desert early on in his career as an RAF pilot. He sustained a very bad concussion (which was to come back to haunt him and finally "invalid" him out of service nearly two years later) and had his face bashed in. As he explained to his mother in a letter: "My nose was bashed in ... and the ear nose and throat man pulled my nose out of the back of my head and shaped it and now it looks just as before except that it's a little bent about ..." Dahl went on to fly many combat missions in North Africa and Greece, usually against vastly superior odds, but somehow he managed to survive until the middle of 1941, when the migraine headaches caused by the aforementioned crash made him unfit for further flying. Dahl's nearly laconic and completely unself-conscious manner of writing about the things he did - absolutely heroic things - made me think of Sam Hynes's WWII memoir of his missions in the Pacific theater. Both writers downplay the importance of their roles. They never speak of heroics or derring-do, only about the importance of their comrades, doing the jobs they were trained to do and trying their best to simply stay alive. This was an enormously satisfying, moving and often hilarious tale. After reading these two slim volumes of memoirs by Dahl, I do wish he had written another. I have ordered his slim collection of stories about WWII already. What a wonderful writer - and gentleman - Roald Dahl was. - Tim Bazzett, author of SOLDIER BOY and LOVE, WAR & POLIO

Excellent life story, adventure. Bought because of its aviation aspect and personal Greek attraction with the Battle of Athens during the last war. Having served on 84 Sqn RAF in Cyprus it was really interesting to review first hand flying activities during these times of conflict. A really nice short story.

If you see the classic Roald Dahl cover illustration you might think this is an appropriate book for young children. It's definitely a book for 6th or 7th grade and up. Scroll around and you'll find some excellent reviews written by teenagers. I just gave it to my dad who is a WWII buff--he loved it. Adults, particularly those interested in Africa and WWII, will enjoy it so don't think you're going to read a children's book. It's really a classic memoir. The great British actor, Derek Jacobi, has recorded a fantastic unabridged audio version (and a fine one of Dahl's "Boy")

I've always enjoyed Dahl's children's books, and so I was curious to see what he might write about his own life. To say that his early adult years were exciting might understate the matter a bit. This book opens with Dahl embarking on a ship for East Africa, to start his first job as a representative of the Shell Oil Company, and follows him through his career as a RAF fighter pilot in the Eastern Mediterranean theater during WWII. Many of his tales are so over the top that it would be tempting to believe that he has embelished the stories. But even if he did, the result is an thoroughly enjoyable read, full of adventure and the excitement of youth. We also get a glimpse of the last hurrah of the British Empire, the epic struggle of the second World War, and just the barest idea of the conditions he found in war torn England upon his return. Very entertaining.

So much fun for adults and kids. I read this to my kid brother often and he loves it as much as I do.

For people who like Tolkien's "other" stories like "Smith of Wooton Major", etc. this is a great book. It's amazing (or not) how much of his writing style shows a continuity throughout his works from a children's story to his epics.

A late start reading anything other than THe Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings prevented me from enjoying this when I was younger. This delightful story of a little dog's encounter with a grumpy wizard introduces us to the vageries of the "mystics". From the moon to under the sea to land, with a surprise ending, Roverandom experiences many things that make him glad to be a dog with his human friend. A fine read.

very relaxing read. aND also not as confusing as some of his other works. if your a tolkien fan its worth buying and reading!

How different the world looks when you are made from small to tiny! How much fun you can have, and all the amazing things you can go and see, even when you are only a small dog, turned into an even smaller toy.

Roverandom! A children's novel written by JRR Tolkien, but an actual event. No, his dog was not turned into a small toy, and sailed over the world, too the moon meeting the man in the tower, the great dragon, seagulls and gods, but by his Son, who had lost his toy dog on a family vacation.

JRR Tolkien is more famously known for his epic story of: The Lord of the Rings. However, a large amount of work written by JRR Tolkien were children's stories, and this was one excellent. It is about a small dog, Rover, who gets changed into a small toy dog by a wizard, after taking a bit at him! Think before leaping!

After being picked up and placed into a toy shop, Rover is bought, and his adventure begins. Ever looking, and trying, to return to his home, Rover goes on an amazing adventure, around the world, below the seas, and too the moon. We meet amazing characters such as the man in the moon, another, old Rover, who can fly, great dragons, where children go when they dream.

The story is very well wrapped together, and even though was written, people of all ages can enjoy it. We have all lost thing, precious and not, and maybe we'll stop to think where they actually go! Many fans of Tolkien will see correlations to other pieces of his work, but Roverandom stands on his own 4 legs as his own little big adventure!

I have reviewed many of these in this series in the last few days as I try to finish the series before the end of 2008. Well one to go, but after this, the penultimate, can it get better? If you can get past that there is little need for a mystery, for the body is truly a device to continue the action of what is a first rate historical.

We have spent twenty tales with Cadfael and Hugh and the others of the times. We have Bishop de Clinton, and Earl Beaumont, and even King Stephen. Now we meet Empress Maud but more importantly her nephew Phillip. The tale of what takes place in and around the events of the Coventry Peace conference of 1145 and how Cadfael and Hugh find their way there and the actions that Cadfael must see to of a personal nature is worth the price of admission.

The body, the murder is not important. We have 19 tales that have set this up to be what Pargeter, what Peters seems to do better, give us the setting of this civil war and a story to encompass it. This is the must read of the series.

"If you go further and delay longer, then you go as your own man, none of mine. Without my leave or blessing."
"Without your prayers?"
"Have I said so?"
"Father, it is written in the Rule that the brother who by his own wrong choice has left the monastery may be received again, even to the third time, at a price. Even penance ends when you shall say: It is enough!"
- Radulfus and Cadfael, discussing Cadfael's leave of absence herein

This book contains a major spoiler for THE VIRGIN IN THE ICE, which introduced two characters appearing in this book, and a spoiler for THE HOLY THIEF that the reader might miss.

Several illegitimate sons figure prominently in this book, all great men in one way or another:
- Robert of Gloucester, the empress' chief supporter and half-brother, who would have been king had he been legitimate. While Robert himself is only on stage briefly, his relationship with the empress is the motive for her actions in the final section of the book. - Robert's son Philip FitzRobert, who recently shocked everyone by repudiating his allegiance to the empress and going over to the king, taking an entire castle and its garrison with him after his father ignored his pleas for support during a siege.
- Geoffrey FitzClare, one of Philip's chief captains in Cricklade, whose seal was set first to the surrender.
- One obscure knight of Philip's following, now held prisoner and not offered for ransom: Olivier de Bretagne.

A list of prisoners taken at Cricklade sends Hugh Beringar to Cadfael, who in turn makes full confession to Radulfus at last: that Olivier is his son, which he never knew until the events of THE VIRGIN IN THE ICE (and Olivier still does not know), and that he never knowingly abjured the ties of fatherhood in taking his monastic vows. Radulfus gives Cadfael as much leeway as he can, giving him permission to attend peace talks in Coventry with Hugh Beringar where the subject of prisoners and ransoms is expected to be a topic. But Cadfael's leave will end with the conference, after which his further absence will indicate that he has repudiated his vows and cast himself adrift.

This is one of only two books in which King Stephen appears in person, and the only one in which the empress appears, which in itself is worth seeing as the two are brought together for peace talks in Coventry. Alas, the end of the war still seems far away, as each holds substantial territory (he in England, she in Normandy) with hopes of total victory, and neither will give up their separate claims to the crown: Stephen's, that he has been formally anointed king; Maud's, that she is the late king's only surviving legitimate child, to whom all the nobles, Stephen prominent among them, swore oaths of allegiance as the king's heir. While most of their faults are complimentary - he is too impatient to pursue either a siege or a grievance, her arrogance with her allies knows no bounds - they share one grievous fault: neither considers their responsibilities to their people, not even in great matters of the devastation wrought by war, let alone small matters of individual justice.

So it is that Cadfael, as he had feared would be the case, is left to pursue the mystery of Olivier's fate without official backing, aided and abetted chiefly by Yves Hugonin, now nineteen and Olivier's brother-in-law, and like him of the empress' following. Soon Cadfael needs to save Yves as well as Olivier, as Yves' hot-blooded confrontation of one of Philip's turncoat captains at the conference makes Yves chief suspect when the man is assassinated soon afterward. While the empress protects Yves under the safe-conduct that made the conference possible, she herself does not believe in his innocence (and, chillingly, approves of the act), nor does someone else. Yves, like Olivier before him, vanishes into unransomed captivity, but this time leaving a trail that Cadfael can follow.

The mysteries of the murders to be investigated in this book, while very interesting in their own right, are in a greater sense only tools in setting the stage for greater mysteries to be explored: that of the relationships between the characters, the mysteries of the human heart. Cadfael's loyalty to his own son, without expected return, is set against Philip's troubled relationship with his great father - all four very fine, honourable men, but separated by various entanglements. Yves' loyalty to Olivier is set against both Olivier's entanglement with their captor and Philip's loyalty to his dead captain. There is also a constant background of personal loyalties conflicting with greater responsibilities: monastic vows against fatherhood, oaths of allegiance against law, order, and justice, loyalty to one's liege against loyalty to one's friends.

And what drove Olivier's captor to hold him beyond price? That, more than any murder, is the great mystery of this book.

Drive-in totals:
- Two murders, one a stabbing at close range.
- One attempted murder (a very nasty fall resulting in permanent injury).
- One sequence straight out of THIEF: THE DARK PROJECT wherein a lone unarmed man sneaks into the heart of a guarded fortress by night.
- One battle with siege, when the empress for hate and scalded pride takes action she would not take to rescue loyal knights of her following.

As always, I recommend the unabridged recording narrated by Stephen Thorne.

This twentieth chronicle of Brother Cadfael reads as if Ellis Peters knew it would be her last. It is a fitting end to the series, though many of us would wish for more. She drew together several loose ends from previous novels, and left us with a sense of closure on Cadfaels' vocation. As reported elsewhere, the tone is more somber, but perhaps appropriately so.

Also, as others have mentioned, don't read this unless you've read of Oliver's two previous appearances.

Fare you well, Cadfael...and Ellis Peters

I was disappointed with this book. I am a big Ellis Peters fan and I hate that this is her final book. I was delighted at the reappearance of the character of Olivier de Bretagne; he was always one of my favorites. However, this book has a much darker tone than the earlier ones, and left me wishing for one more "Brother Cadfael", one a little more light-hearted.

Finally, I have to say goodbye to a dearly loved friend, Brother Cadfael of the Abbey of St.Peter and St.Paul, after this, the 20th chronicle. When Cadfael learns that his son, Olivier, has been taken prisoner after the seige and fall of Faringdon castle, he also learns that his captor refuses to release him for a ransom, as he has done with all of the other prisoners. Cadfael is determined to secure his release at all costs and begs leave of the Abbot to travel to Coventry to attend the conference between King Stephen and the Empress Maud, so as to beg for help for Olivier. The Abbot grants him a short leave of absence but stipulates that he must return in a week or consider himslf recused, having failed to keep his monastic vows. Even with this heavy penalty hanging over him, Cadfael knows that he cannot leave his son languishing in a dungeon, and offers his life in return for Olivier's. With the help of Yves Hugonin, scion of a noble family and now brother-in-law to Olivier, Cadfael gains entrance to the castle where he makes the offer of an exchange of his life for Olivier's to Philip of Gloucester, lately of the Empress's court and now an adherent of King Stephen, in this perpetually changing war which is devastating the country. This is a really action packed story with seiges, seige weapons, treachery and murder included...a fine way to farewell an old friend!

This is the Second Chronicle of Brother Cadfael and the author is still introducing the continuing cast of characters. As usual, a murder is discovered early on and eventually solved by Brother Cadfael's patient detective work, but the real interest here is less the crime than the character development. The redoubtable Hugh Beringar makes his appearance in this episode, and his complex and interesting personality is slowly and painstakingly revealed. While it is a good idea to read this series in order, this one will surprise and delight on a second reading after the reader has gotten to know the dramatis personae.

I have just started the Cadfael series by Ellis Peters. It is a very enjoyable read. Perhaps the publisher has not chosen the best combination of font and typeface, but some chapters are visually a bit unclear. Stories are great.

Cadfael had answered the Crusader call when a young man. He had spent many years traveling the world, having adventures and learning many things but as he grew older he decided to return to England and become a Benedictine monk. Unfortunately the troubles of the world have followed him to quiet little Shrewsbury. The succession to the throne is in doubt, the country in tottering on the brink of civil war as the factions supporting Stephen battle those supporting Maud. The local castle is seized by King Stephen, executing the soldiers left behind to defend it.

When the good brothers went to bury the men though they discovered that there was one too many corpses, a discovery that Cadfael was not content to ignore. In his quest to discover the identity of the unknown man Cadfael uncovered a murder, missing treasure, betrayals and not one but two sets of star crossed lovers.

This is a charming blend of mystery, romance and history and does a creditable job of all three. The mystery will keep the reader guessing on at least some of the details. The romantic aspect is charming, although predictable and the history is woven into the story with skill. Peters brings the medieval society to life without turning the novel into a history lesson.

Ellis Peters has long been in my favorite author category. Having read most of her books 15 years ago I went back and started reading them again. Her style is still fresh. She's able to convey a story without dragging my head into the foul - foul language, foul thought, foul deed. Instead she writes about the vagaries of human nature as they confront the unthinkable.

The English/Welsh landscape is truly delightful - and in this "hobby" historian's mind - a fairly accurate portrayal of the time period.

I was disappointed with the first book in the Cadfael series, but there was just barely enough good in the first book to make me give the second a try. It was a good thing I did. One Corpse Too Many is more entertaining, more complex and more surprising than a Morbid Taste for Bones. While it reads more like a nice piece of historical fiction than a "whodunit", you will find yourself surprised and anxious to learn what happens next.

This is a charming book, full of wonderful illustrations drawn by Tolkien himself. The cast of characters is wonderfully amusing, especially North Polar Bear, who gets into all sorts of mischief every year. There are even descriptions of wars between Father Christmas and the neighboring Goblins, reminiscent of the Goblin wars depicted in The Hobbit and The Silmarillion.

The book is also bittersweet, as it spans almost 20 years, and Tolkien begins to address his letters to fewer and fewer children, until only his youngest, his daughter Priscilla, still awaits her letter from Father Christmas. It shows how his children have grown, and Father Christmas himself seems sad as his children stop believing in Christmas magic. The last letter is especially poignant, as Father Christmas says goodbye to the children.

This is a great book to read during the holiday season, but it can really be enjoyed any time of year. It's funny, magical, and made me feel like a child again. I recommend this book not only to fans of Tolkien, but to anyone who wants to get into the Christmas spirit.

This book is appealing from many perspectives: historic, artistic, and emotional. The content is intimate "letters from Father Christmas" written by Tolkien to his children for some 20 years. The letters and envelopes have beautiful color illustrations done by Tolkien, and are shown in detail in the book. You can not help but feel like one of Tolkien's children, and marvel at the subtle grandeur of this simplest of gifts.

A sweet, very clever idea that the John Ronald Reuel Tolkien fellow
came up with to amuse his daughter. Definitely an interesting book for
little kids, old funny looking spidery handwriting, and all. I suppose
they probably rerelease this every year, with how popular he became
recently.

We bought the edition for our son (now in college) that has the hand-written facsimile leters, each in its own envelope, which is itself a facsimile, complete with Tolkien's hand-drawn illustrations and fake postage. For several years, we would read one of the letters each night before bed for the last few weeks before Christmas. While this edition is missing several of the letters that later editions include, we loved being able to pull the facsimiles out of their envelopes and read them as if they really were letters from Father Christmas. I don't think the other editions include the envelopes and letters. You don't need me to tell you what a great storyteller Tolkien was, but the stunning beauty of the physical book is what stands out for me. I can't wait to have grandchildren I can share it with! As for my son, it opened the door to Tolkien for him.

I am a big Tolkien fan but this book was new to me. It was a thrill to find and a thrill to read. I started over 20 years ago giving a Christmas book to my mother in November. I search for something special every year and the names on my Christmas book list keep growing. (I like to think it's because of my inspired choices.) LETTERS FROM FATHER CHRISTMAS has zoomed to the top of the list. The title doesn't do it justice. It is a marvelous story about Father Christmas, elves, polar bears, goblins and adventure. It also combines a family story and reflects a marvelous and moving sense of place and time. Pure genius. Get it for everyone on your list.

yet somehow Elizabeth George kept me reading. Still, I didn't find the book ultimately satisfying. The motive, when revealed, for one of the murders was simply not believable. Less of the cumbersome super-self-conscious "English" usage, but still more detailed description of furniture and such than is to my taste.

A Scottish estate turned into an elegant country inn, whose first guests are a famous theatrical producer and the stars, writer and director of the new play he is getting ready for the West End: ingredients for a classic English country-house murder mystery, especially when the playwright is found murdered in a locked bedroom. There are several people with immediately obvious motives, and a complex net of relationships among them(the playwright's sister is the lead actor's ex-wife; the producer is the estate owner's sister, and who exactly is the father of his daughter?) But Elizabeth George owes nothing to Agatha Christie, and this is no generic country-house murder mystery. When DI Thomas Lynley and his partner Sgt. Barbara Havers are sent to the scene in a highly irregular decision by their superiors at New Scotland Yard, the playwright's murder appears to have mysterious political implications-or is that a red herring? It certainly has personal implications for DI Lynley, who is unpleasantly surprised to find Lady Helen Clyde among the guests, with a very embarrassing alibi. As the complex plot unfolds, Lynley and Havers view the principal suspect from distinctly different, and clearly class-based, points of view. Thus the issue of social class, which permeates this series, is cleverly interwoven with the elements of the mystery, and the continuing cast of characters continues to be developed.

Ms. George rarely, if ever, disappoints and this title is no exception. Lynley and Havers are at their contemptuous best while St. James and the ladies Helen and Deborah provide depth and nuance to this classic Brit crime novel.
A fine amalgamation of detective story and literature - just what we've come to expect from the George bibliography.

Rereading this book after several years. Still a great book and much better than the TV version.

EG's eye for detail is superb and she deftly weaves a plot of byzantine intricacy against a background of wonderful Scottish scenery and thespian intrigue. So accurate is her narrative that one forgets that it is fiction, and picks up the occasional reference that goes astray - e.g. the Royal Scottish Police helicopter, but that it is truly nit picking. This is a an engaging read that fully entertains and leaves me looking for the next one.

The play is a description of the morals and values of Victorian England, where a good hearted man, Chiltern is torn apart between remorse over a mistake he committed in the past and his love and devotion to his wife.
It was quite fascinating to read Chiltern's thoughts of being a victim of feminine adoration as opposed to his masculine love that accepts loved one's imperfections.

Apparently, Wilde believes that the acceptance of loved ones' flaws is a key part of love. Oscar Wilde examines love, honesty, friendship, and forgiveness with a humorous, forcibly happy ending.
Nice plot that cleverly mixes seriousness with humor and cynicism with hope. Each character is attractively built, even Mrs. Cheveley, who is the quintessential evil lady, is frankly an attractive evil character
A century later, the same moral irony and the same human nature still exist.

This book is a great nineteenth century literature of one of mi favourites writers ever . It makes a great picture of the english bourgeoisie of the century combined with humour, sarcasm and moral content. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I love Oscar Wilde's penchant for reversals. This play is terribly good fun but makes you think at the same time. I want to see the play acted out on stage now that I've read it!

As a dish for Oscar Wilde's inimitable and devilishly sweet locution, "An Ideal Husband" accentuates adequately.  Like Roger Moore's 70's Bond flicks (before they became cartoons in the 80's), the play is saturated with the style, but very little of the substance from previous genius.

The excuse for, more than the theme of, the play is the unforgiving and insincere moral code among the social elite of fin de siècle London.  Sir Robert Chiltern's otherwise ivory political career grew from selling a Cabinet secret to Stock Exchange speculator, Baron Arnheim, and Mrs. Cheveley, the since-deceased Baron's intimate, possesses the letter of documentation.  All she asks for the letter's destruction is Sir Robert's official support of the Argentine Canal Company, in which she has invested and he knows to be a swindle.  More than an end to his political career, he fears publication of the letter will end his marriage to his admirable, but morally unrelenting wife, Lady Chiltern.  As if to release his audience from any pretension of seriousness, Wilde presents Society's dandy, in the form of Lord Goring, as both his foundation of moral clarity and hedonic flippancy.  A string of one-liners and contrived plot twists later and we delight in what Wilde considers the proper end to any play or romantic relationship, a pleasing settlement.

"An Ideal Husband" is the Daily Star, not the Financial Times. Wilde is truly genius when seriousness is woven through his works, and particularly when his seriousness is personal; but, here he is entertaining nonetheless. If you're just introducing yourself to Oscar Wilde, I recommend including this work after a more flattering introduction, lest you mistake Wilde as merely entertaining.

Chevely: "Sometimes. But it is such a difficult pose to keep up."

Perhaps not so well known as "The Importance of Being Earnest," this has all the same banter, manners, and sharp-eyed look at the crumbling edge of the upper crust in Vistorian England. It pleases the attentive listener at many levels. Considered only as a stream of one-liners and clever quips, it delivers all you could ask for.

But because it's Wilde, it's also a wild tirade against the mannered (sometimes ill-mannered) gentry. Behind that, it has a good deal to say about tolerance for the flaws of any fallible human - and Wilde could speak on human flaws with rare authority. And, like any truly great work, its examination of honesty (and dis-) reveals a good bit about today's world, a century later.

I'm not normally a reader of plays. I don't have that inner ear that brings words on the page to life. Wilde gives me some idea what that experience must be like, and I'm grateful for it.

//wiredweird

I'm very glad to have finished Manfredi's trilogy: it was good, well-researched and introduced me to Peritas, Alexander's dog. I think that, having read Mary Renault's The Persian Boy, it will be hard for me to really enjoy any narrative retelling of Alexander's conquests. That said, this is a great attempt, I'm not surprised that it was an international bestseller, but...a lot of the major issues were avoided or brushed over: Alexander's bisexuality, the murder of his father, the speculation over the cause of his death, etc. I would highly recommend this trilogy for someone interested in ancient history, but a well-researched biography would certainly be of more use to a scholar. Good reading, entertaining and all that, but it could have been so much more, maybe. Manfredi sticks very closely to the facts and sources, and that's very admirable. We'll let that be the last word.

This is the third book in the trilogy, it is best to start with no. 1, so you can really understand the relationship he has with this boyhood friends/generals. Besides being very well educated, he had a gift in strategy and statesman ship. As it is today, you need loyal people on your team. This book was very well written, it seems that you were right there with him in most of his exploits and personal moments. He was depicted as a man who had a few wives and loves and very respected by his troops and populace. You can always learn from history.

Really enjoyed this book and the other two in the trilogy. The author brings history to life. I learnt a lot

I think you learn more about Manfredi in this trilogy then you do of Alexander. He takes a lot of liberties, skips over some of the things we do know about Alexander (so little is known and it feels wrong to skip over what little we do know) and embroiders heavily. If you keep that in mind, the books are a good read. However, if you depend on them to give you a true idea of who Alexander was, how he lived, what he did--even to get an idea of the extend of conquest that Alexander did--you will be seriously misguided by this series. Alexander's relationship with Hespastian was pivotal to his life yet Manfredi hardly touches on it. Alexander's relationship with Bagoas was an important aspect of those times yet Bagoas is hardly even mentioned. Most of Alexander's marriages to women were basically political connections yet Manfredi expands on them (to a degree that rings false if applied to Alexander; perhaps if Manfredi had been Alexander, it may have been that way). The marches Alexander lead his army on through the Hindu Kush, through the desert, through hell basically, was not communicated well in the book; they're made to sound like strained hikes. I think Manfredi missed completely what drove the men to follow Alexander through thick and thin, how the men loved Alexander and for most of those years did everything for him. And I especially detested the ending of this book. Yes, Alexander sickened and died not in battle but was brought down by [disease? poison? multiple physical strains?]--and immediately after his death all that Alexander (and the army) had done, all that had been worked for was all undone by his generals all wanting to be king but none of them up to snuff. If you read this trilogy, just keep in mind that most of the fleshing out is pure Manfredi imagination; don't automatically accept that Alexander felt or said or thought this way. I think Alexander had bigger, deeper, more majestic views of everything that Manfredi can't even begin to guess at.

Starting off just as Alexander has left the Oracle at Siwa, it's amazing to see how expertly Manfredi chronicles the events from the Battle of Gaugamela to Alexander's death in less than 450 pages.

As is typical of him, his writing style is stupendous, fluid, and with its own balanced mix of lush literate prose and straight-forward technical description.

The writing and the way the events unfold is so rich and compelling that by the time of Cleitus's death in Bactria, you feel the strain of the men as they have been on the march endlessly for years, the grueling pace they move at, and the bleak, deserted environment of the hilly areas where they hunt down Darius's murderers in essentially a guerrilla-type warfare. Looking back only two hundred pages, you're shocked to see that the Battle of Gaugamela was so close by, and yet it feels entire novels away.

The fast pace moving from rich Persia to desolate Sogdia, Arachosia, Bactria, to wet and hellish India, to the blazing hot Gedrosian desert never seems to move too fast, though Steven Pressfield's "The Afghan Campaign" spends an entire novel on just the three years Alexander spent wandering around Sogdia, Bactria, etc (modern day Afghanistan).


Manfredi's handling of such thing as Peritas' death, Bucephalus's death, and Alexander's life-threatening injuries is so tender and yet brutal as to make you feel the same emotional impact, if a bit less.

The army's hatred of Alexander over his adopting Persian customs and favoring Persian subjects is one that feels so real that you find yourself hoping that Alexander doesn't do something stupid to garner the hatred of his men.


The whole atmosphere and aura of this book is so radically different from the previous two as to feel like entirely separate novels of different time periods between them. Book 1 being the childhood of Alexander and the Hellenic wars with Thebes and Athens and such, Book 2 being the harsh wars in Asia Minor and the struggle with Memnon of Rhodes and all the way up to the Battle of Issus and the Oracle at Siwa, Book 3 being a new sort of hell in a totally new sort of war bearing little to no resemblence to that you've just read about.


Manfredi's handling of Alexander's death and Ptolemy's afterword to his dead friend is so magically handled that tears come to your eyes reading them.



My only complaint with this novel as with the previous two is that so much emphasis is placed upon the active will and participation of the supernatural, the Gods, seers, magicians, prophets and prophecies etc, as to leave absolutely no ambiguity to the will of the Gods, much less their existence. As soon as Aristander the Seer comes to Alexander warning him of something or advising him on something, it comes to pass almost exactly or Alexander is saved solely because of his heeding to these prophecies.



Amazing book. Buy now

When you can see some of what is coming at you for pages in a mystery, then it is not doing what it should be doing. This is the problem I found with The Confession of Brother Haluin. Previously when Peters has sent Hugh Beringar to court then we have court intrigue find its way to Shrewbury.

This time, we do not. We find very little in the way of additional detail about Saint Peter and St. Paul's though we do hear about the brothers who work in the scriptorium as that is where Haluin has found his skills to be valued.

As we delve into the story, we see so much earlier than Cadfael what is taking place, that it leaves me wondering why the story was even written. Then the body. All good mysteries are murder mysteries and so there must be a body.

But we don't get to the body for such a long time, and by then we know the heart of the mystery so the motive for there being a body is too evident.


The reason to read the story is to pass time and keep up with the rest of the series.

Not the best Brother Cadfael mystery, by any means. For most of the book, Cadfael is just along for the ride as an improbable plot rattles and bumps along like clockwork around him. Indeed, there are so many happy coincidences and long-concealed dirty deeds to be fortuitously revealed that the hand of Peters' genteel God has to assert itself about once a chapter, or the whole contrivance would sputter out.

With Cadfael on 'hold,' there was a chance for other characters to make an appearance and an impact. Alas, everyone else in the novel is pretty much a stock "type" who would not be out of place in any generic English country house murder mystery.

And as a mystery, it's a disappointment. The central murder is more a case of poor communications than an act of passion or malice. No one is ever punished for it. Indeed, the identity of the killer is not narrowed down further than one of two people, and the two candidates are the least-defined characters in the book who appear more than once. And the malicious act that lies at the heart of an eighteen-year-long conspiracy is just -- petty.

I re-read "The Confession of Brother Haluin" recently. When I picked it up, I realized that I could not recall anything about the plot. Was there some reason I had read this Brother Cadfael mystery once and never again?

Yes, there was.

Brother Haluin suffers a horrific, crippling accident and lies near death. He confesses a terrible crime to Abbot Radolfus and Brother Cadfael, and miraculously recovers. Determined to undertake a pilgrimage of penance, he receives Abbot Radolfus' blessing for the journey. Because Cadfael is privy to the confession, he is enlisted to aid Brother Haluin in his journey.

When they arrive at their destination, they find that things are not all as they seem, and that another tragedy is in the offing. Then a murder occurs. Cadfael unravels the mystery, the sinner atones insofar as possible, and Haluin finds peace.

The mystery in this story was not very mysterious, but the Cadfael stories derive their charm from characters and relationships more than from mystery. What does it matter that the reader has solved the mystery even before the murder occurs? The more important conundrum, how to set aright the lives which are out of kilter, remains to be resolved.

In the severe winter of 1142, the roof of the Abbey of St.Peter and St.Paul collapses under the weight of the heavy snowfall. One of the monks assigned to the task of repairing the roof is Brother Haluin who falls and crashes to the ground, unconscious and badly hurt. Cadfael nurses hin through the first night and is present when he awakens and gives a deathbed confession to the Abbot. Recovering, he is given permission to make a pilgrimage to the grave of a young woman that he feels he has wronged and accompanied by Cadfael, hobbles on crutches to the manor where he was formerly employed before becoming a monk. There they meet Roscelin, a noble youth in fosterage there to learn his knightly skills, as was the custom, and to separate him from Helisande, a girl of his own age and, because of his father's second marriage, his aunt! The two has become fonder of each other than was proper and so were separated by the family to prevent incest. At the manor, Helisande's old nurse is murdered and the lady of the manor delights in reminding Haluin that the poisonous herbs, whose use had been taught to him by Cadfael, caused the death of Bertrade, his love. It's an involved but absorbing plot which is sorted out by Cadfael in his inimical style and to everyone's satisfaction.

THE CONFESSION OF BROTHER HALUIN is the fifteenth installment in Ellis Peters' Cadfael series. These tales provide a romanticized vision of life in twelfth century England, making the times seem so pleasant that you almost want to live there. The countryside is lovely, there is generally a hint of romance in the air, and life moves at a measured, unrushed pace. No pavement, no pollution, and no hustle and bustle. Glossed over are the poverty, poor nutrition, disease, and general stench (people rarely bathed). Life, especially in the cloister, is peaceful and idyllic.

In this story, Brother Haluin is badly injured in a fall. Fearing for his life, Haluin makes a sickbed confession to Cadfael and Abbot Radulfus. He tells of a burden of guilt, carried since his youth, over a love affair that ended badly. Upon his recovery, Haluin pledges to embark on a pilgrimage to his old home. With Cadfael as his companion, he makes the hard journey only to meet with some surprises. A murder soon follows. Is there a connection between this new death and Haluin's troubled past? Trust Cadfael to uncover the truth.

This story poses some intriguing problems, but the answers are frequently quite transparent. Suspense and surprising twists aren't Peters' strong suit. Instead, she specializes in pleasant tales with happy endings, delivered in a beguiling prose style. She runs true to form in THE CONFESSION OF BROTHER HALUIN. The outcome is a happy one, if not hard to see coming, and the experience is a pleasing one.

Like most of the books in this series, THE CONFESSION OF BROTHER HALUIN is a very ordinary mystery. What makes this and the other Cadfael tales enjoyable is the pleasant world Peters creates and the charming, unhurried way in which she tells the tale. The Cadfael books are nice to read and, on the strength of that, I recommend them. You will find them especially enjoyable if you like a bit of history and some romance along with your whodunit.

Cadfael is one of the great detectives and Ellis Peters is generally a master of the genre. To my mind she invented the medieval Mystery, but here we have much of the detective work being done by another that is not Cadfael. Further Cadfael and we the reader can jump to the conclusion, to the mysteries outcome midway through the book.

A good mystery should not let you have the information you need to solve it so easily. A great mystery keeps you guessing until the end. So where does that leave us here?

Cadfael does not really contribute much to the solving of the mystery, and as such it could be set anywhere. The reason to read this is for the background of what else is happening in Cadfael's england. The Civil War between the King and the Empress, and that outcome that will effect the lives of our real protagonist.

This is the eleventh in the series of Brother Cadfael mysteries, and includes many familiar characters: Hugh Berengar, Abbot Radulfus, Prior Robert, Sister Magdalen and the boatman Madog, among others. The story, however, develops quite differently from the pattern of earlier volumes. For starters, the "mystery" is not a murder (several chapters run their course before there is even a disappearance). Then, as Cadfael uses his powers of observation and logic to "solve" the mystery, and his wisdom to resolve it, the author is very slow to let us in on his thinking. When she finally does, the various threads of the story are not tied together in quite so perfect a tapestry as we have come to expect; questions about how this strange series of events could have unfolded in the context of medieval monastic life linger even as the story ends with an elegaic passage about the changing seasons in the English countryside. An excellent "mystery," indeed.

"... this story was most tedious and far-fetched. I couldn't believe that this young woman would do what she did for a man she hardly knew..."

I am currently reading The Crusades by Zoe Oldenbourg. From this book and others, the type of action taken by this young woman is very believable *FOR THE TIME*. Women worshipped heroic men and marriage was not a match for love, but for property. To put it in a more modern perspective, what if a young girl was told that in 10 years time she would be the wife of Harrison Ford or Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt or Kid Rock.

Certainly, she would spend much of her growing years yearning for every scrap of information and growing into a bond with the legend of him.

This is the fourth Brother Cadfael mystery that I have read (I happened upon a random selection in a neighbor's giveaway bin) and it is definitely the best so far. The title, taken from the Book of Common Prayer ("O God, who hast consecrated the state of Matrimony to such an excellent mystery"), is more than apt.

The overall theme of this installment could be briefly summarized as "things are not what they seem". While this is true in most mystery novels it is true in spades here. A young women is mugged and murdered--or is she? A monk has a homosexual crush on another monk--or does he? Sorry, I've probably already said too much.

As usual, there are several romantic plot threads, always a nice touch in the midst of a mystery story. Brother Cadfael, in this installment, does not use his deductive powers so much to solve the mystery as to analyze it as it unfolds. This heightens the suspense because we don't get let in on the inner workings of Cadfael's mind.

Another reason why this novel rises a notch above the others is the role that the 12th century English history plays in the story. In previous installments the history, while interesting and informative, sometimes makes the book hard to get into. Here, the history plays a central role in the story, as the civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud provides both the impetus for several new characters to show up in Shrewsbury, as well as making it more difficult to track down the information necessary to solve the mystery.

In addition to being a good read, I think this would make a great movie. I see from another review that the series has been dramatized, presumably for British TV. It's too bad this series is not more widely circulated, perhaps if more people knew about it a movie would be more likely. Or, alternatively, maybe somebody should make a movie anyway, so that people who would not normally read the books can enjoy these excellent mysteries.

In this eleventh chronicle of Brother Cadfael of the Abbey of St.Peter and St.Paul in Shrewsbury, the ongoing war between King Stephen and Empress Maud has come to a stalemate, following the sacking and burning of the city of Winchester. With Stephen still a prisoner in Bristol, Maud had barricaded herself and her forces within the city when Stephen's queen, Matilda, attacked the city with fire arrows, destroying the monasteries and convents and causing the general flight of all who could escape. Two Benedtictine monks arrive at the Shrewsbury Abbey, begging for refuge and a new home. Humilis, the elder, is an ex crusader, like Cadfael, but had been severely wounded in battle. Fidelis, the younger monk, is mute, and is Humilis's carer, tending him with complete devotion. Cadfael realises that Humilis is close to death and tends him with loving care. At the same time, a hue and cry is set up to find the whereabouts of the former fiancee of Humilis who had wished to enter a convent after her betrothal vows were rescinded by Humilis who knew that he could never be a husband to her with his shocking wounds. Sheriff Hugh Beringar is afraid that the girl was robbed and murdered en route to the convent as she was never seen again. Wise and worldly Cadfael sees beyond outward appearences and soon becomes aware of the deceptions being carried out. With his aid, the well meant perpetrators reach a satisfactory conclusion to their trouble and the life of the Abbey goes on as smoothly as possible in these turbulent times.