Customer Reviews
The Virgin in the Ice, The Devil's Novice, A Morbid Taste For Bones - By: Mr. David W. Legg, 02 Oct 2007 
"The Virginin the Ice" is by far the most exciting & engrossing of all Ellis Peters' Cadfael Chronicles, with its double twistin the plot & unexpected developments. But to be enjoyed fully it has to be watched after "A Morbid Taste For Bones" which comes at the start of the Chronicles. If "The Virginin the Ice" is the most engrossing, then "A Morbid Taste For Bones" is definitely the funniest, although with Roman Catholic sensibilities may not entirely agree. "The Devil's Novice" is weaker than the other two tales on thsi disc.
The best thing is to read all the books first,in the correct order, then watch the DVDs for light relief when feeling lazy. The books are much, much, better tham the DVD, but the DVD is still well worth borrowing or buying.
Sir Derek and the Chronicles of a Truly Rare Benedictine. - By: Themis-Athena, 08 Sep 2006 When the decision was made to produce for TV several episodes from her mystery series about Brother Cadfael, that 12th century crusader turned monk turned detective who has been, ever since his creation, one of the most compassionate & unusual sleuths of literary history, novelist Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter) was not entirely happy. In fact, as the series' star, Sir Derek Jacobi, explainsin the extra footage provided on the now-released DVDs, Ms. Peters had very mixed feelings about giving up her brain child & entrusting it to other people who went about cutting & adjusting everything, from the storylines themselves to the way the protagonists speak & even the Chronicles' sequence, to the necessities & limitations set by the new medium. But she eventually acquiesced & at one point promised that "the next one I write, I'll make sure it's easier for you all to film."
While the thirteen episodes that were eventually produced are, thus, not entirely true to the individual Chronicles they are based on, they are closer than many other movie or TV versions of famous works of literature. Most importantly, they maintain not only the core story lines but also the historical authenticity, atmosphere & spirit set by Ms. Peters's booksin a marvelous fashion. And Sir Derek Jacobi brings both the wealth of his experience & skill & all of his own shrewdness, intelligence, sense of humor & empathy to the role of the medieval Benedictine sleuth & thus truly becomes Cadfael -- for the thousands of new fans who are discovering the series through its enactment for TV just as much as for us who loved the books before they were ever transposed to a visual medium. A tremendous cast of supporting actors rounds out an overall excellent production; to mention just a few, Julian Firth as the ambitious & narrow-minded Brother Jerome, Terrence Hardiman as Abbot Radolfus & Sean Pertwee (and later Eoin McCarthy) as Under-Sheriff Hugh Beringar, who joins Cadfaelin his investigations whenever, as is so often the case, these transcend the world of monastic life & require the administration of secular justice as well as clerical insight. Several episodes also feature noted guest stars.
The episodes are not entirelyin the same order as the books; however, as most of the cross-references between the books have been eliminatedin the screen versions, this is no great harm (although the lacking cross-references are probably one of the things avid readers of the books will find missing). The DVDs also provide background information on Ellis Peters, Sir Derek Jacobi & a number of the individual episodes' other actors.
Summary of the episodes containedin this set:
"A Morbid Taste for Bones" (the first Chronicle): The monks mount an expedition to Wales to retrieve the bones of a local saint after a young monk claims to have seen the saintin a visionin which she asked that her bones be brought to Shrewsbury. The mission runs into serious trouble when the local lord, who has opposed it, is found murdered.
"The Virginin the Ice" (the sixth Chronicle): After the sack of Worcester by Empress Maud, a nun, a young nobleman & his sister get lostin the Marshes. Cadfael rushes to the rescue ... & meets a messenger from his own past.
"The Devil's Novice" (the eighth Chronicle): The Abbey accepts a novice with a troubling zeal for monastic life (but not its virtues), who may or may not be connected to the death of a cleric traveling through his home village.
Episodes containedin other sets:
First set:
"One Corpse Too Many" (the second Chronicle).
"Monk's Hood" (the third Chronicle).
"The Leper of St. Giles" (the fifth Chronicle).
"The Sanctuary Sparrow" (the seventh Chronicle).
Third Set:
"St. Peter's Fair" (the fourth Chronicle);
"The Ravenin the Foregate" (the twelfth Chronicle);
"The Rose Rent" (the thirteenth Chronicle).
Fourth Set:
"The Pilgrim of Hate" (the tenth Chronicle);
"The Potter's Field" (the seventeenth Chronicle);
"The Holy Thief" (the nineteenth Chronicle).
Brother Cadfael, Set 2 - By: B. Chandler, 21 Feb 2005 The Virginin the Ice
"Between friends there is no owing."
Once again there is a mystery with many threads overlapping. Father Cadfael uses intuition & a great deal of forensics to sort out what really happened.
You guest it; Sister Hilaria is foundin the ice & the last time she was seen was with Brother Oswain of who is delirious from an encounter with bandits. Two kids are missing & a mysterious woodsman (with a sward) is creeping around. Things only get more complicated. In the process of sorting this out Father Cadfael leaves words of wisdom as "There is no shamein tears when they are worth shedding."
The identity of the mysterious woodsman holds great significance.
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The Devil's Novice
"Evenin the worst deed there is some good."
You know this is going to be a good one when it starts out with a bloody face staring at you. Later there is the bragging priest & you know if he is not the one to die that he should be. And what is with the soon to be bride playing on both sides of the fence?
A new novice that speaks strangelyin his sleep, a missing king's chaplain who should have staidin the cars or rather not go out alone, & a mystery wild man is just the right mix for a murder mystery.
Once again Cadfael uses forensics, logic & intuition (with a little last minute information) to smoke out the truth & bring the culprit/s to justice.
You will suspect everyone up to the end.
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St. Peter's Fair
In the final reckoning we are all traitors to our hearts.
There is to be the annual St. Peter's Fairin which vendors from all over come to hawk their wears. The town merchants are required by law to close for this time. Not satisfied with this law the merchants threaten Abbot Radulfus (Terrence Hardiman) & get told that he has no choicein the matter.
This leads to a scuffle between the merchants & the visiting vendors. In the morning a wine merchant's body seems to be watered down with a hole & no tong. Abbot Radulfus charges Cadfael to find out if it was the Abbots fault for refusing to share with the towns people.
Naturally things get complex. There are crosses & double crosses, beautiful girls & suspicious sheriffs. This may even lead to a rift between the Sheriff Hugh Beringar & Cadfael (old friends.)Cadfael uses forensics, intrusion & logic to help solve the mystery.
3 episodes or 6 episodes - By: , 15 May 2004 The photo cover displayed on the front of Cadfael-The Complete Series 2 has 6 titles printed on it. However the synopsis quoted only 3 episodes.So, are there 3 or are there 6in this series?
