Dead Man's Ransom

About “Dead Man's Ransom”

In February 1141, men return from war to Shrewsbury, but the captured sheriff, Gilbert Prestcote, is not among them. A young Welsh prisoner, Elis, is brought to the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, beginning a story that challenges Brother Cadfael’s sense of justice and compassion. Elis is expected to be exchanged for the sheriff’s ransom, but he falls in love with the sheriff’s daughter, who is also deeply in love with him. When the ailing sheriff is taken to the abbey’s infirmary, he is murdered. Suspicion falls on Elis, who relies on Cadfael’s help. Cadfael supports him, unaware that the truth will deeply affect his own soul. This is the plot of a 1984 novel by Edith Pargeter.