Title:

The Hermit of Eyton Forest

Author:

Eillis Peters

Category:

Mystery / Thriller

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

November 29, 2025

he Hermit of Eyton Forest is the fourteenth installment in Peters' Brother Cadfael mystery series. It is late autumn in 1142, and the civil war between Empress Maud and King Stephen continues - though seemingly at a distance from the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul at Shrewsbury. Cadfael discusses the latest rumors coming out of Oxford with his buddy, Hugh, the sheriff of Shrewsbury. The Empress is besieged at Oxford by King Stephen's army, but perhaps she managed to send out desperate couriers before being completely surrounded. The rumor is that the horse of the Empress's envoy was found wandering, with saddlebags riffled and the rider presumably murdered. But of course Shrewsbury, being north and east from the warring armies, is isolated from the events of such great significance to the fate of the kingdom, right?

Close to home, the latest news is that a holy man called Cuthred has taken up an abandoned hermitage in the nearby Eyton Forest. This devout pilgrim and his serving-man, who goes by the unlikely name of Hyacinth, have settled in the forest. Cuthred announces that his door is always open to any villager who wishes to pray.

Drama comes with the news that the lord of Eaton has perished. He fought on for King Stephen in the civil war, and came home grievously injured and now has succumbed to his wounds. This means that his heir, ten year old Richard Ludell, is now the new lord of Eaton manor. Richard's grandmother sees the opportunity to increase the land-holdings of the Eaton family - there is a nearby manor that has a daughter who is practically a spinster, being in her early twenties and as yet unwed. Grandmother realizes that if Richard and Hiltrude are joined in matrimony, then the land will also be joined into her control. No matter than Richard is just ten and has never met Hiltrude.

Unfortunately for the grandmother's scheme, Richard is studying at the abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul. Grandmother confronts Abbot Radulfus, demanding that Richard be released back into her care, but Radulfus declines. The now-deceased lord of Eaton had instructed that Richard should be taught at the abbey, and his last wishes shall be obeyed. Grandmother rides away in a fury, but she is a determined schemer.

Meanwhile a wealthy man named Drogo Bosiet rides into Shrewsbury. He is searching for a runaway villien. Villiens are required to serve their landlords, but this young man named Brand got into a fight with the steward and then fled. Bosiet has been searching the roads between here and London for this runaway and inquires if anyone has seen a lone red-haired man on the run. No one of that description has passed through, the only new souls are holy Cuthred the hermit and his devout servant, Hyacinth. Bosiet decides to visit the hermit and ask him if he has seen anyone of that description on the road.

All of these story threads end up getting tied together. There is murder most foul. Kidnapping. Romance. Man-hunts. Cadfael and Hugh must puzzle out the mysteries and find the true culprits in all of these schemes. I thought that Peters did a great job of plotting this story, and of course her characters are now well-known to the reader of this series. Medieval England is again expertly described, making it easy to believe the tale as it unfolds. Everything sounds authentic. Another winning entry into this series. Onto the next book, The Confession of Brother Haluin.