ave you any comments about the good Brother that you would like to have posted here?

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Comments

06/04/99: Kim from Washington State, US wrote:

I want the series back! I would like to see the rest of the stories. I find Brother Cadfael and the books to be great reading and have enjoyed the series. I was very disappointed with the last (fourth) series and the way the scripts distorted the story. I loved the first Hugh Beringer and the relationship he shared with Brother Cadfael and do not feel that any of the other Hugh's showed that relationship.

02/06/99: Anneliese Kennedy the US, currently living in Bulgaria wrote:

My husband, daughters and I recently visited the UK, and made sure we included Shrewsbury Quest on our itinerary. I was amazed to find it was in a very busy and modern part of town, across the street from the Abbey Church. It incorporates what is left of the abbey buildings, which formed part of the storage buildings near the jetty (shades of St. Peter's Fair!). It was constructed very cleverly, so that when you are inside, you cannot see any portions of the modern buildings and structures around it - only the Abbey Church is visible. We had a marvelous time - there is something for every age group to enjoy. I highly recommend it.

30/05/99: Jake from the USA wrote:

Although I would never have started reading Cadfael if I hadn't been introduced to the television shows, I wish that I could have had the chance to read at least one of the stories before seeing Jacobi as Cadfael. He's very convincing, and quite similar (if not physically) to the Cadfael of the books, and It's hard to imagine anyone else in the role. Being familiar with most of Connery's on screen work, I would not think of him as Cadfael, but if I had read the books first, my opinion may be different.

26/04/99: Kim from Singapore wrote:

I've never watched the Cadfael series on TV, since it's not shown in my country, but I've read a few of the novels when I stumbled across them by chance in the public library. Has anyone watched "The Name of the Rose" and like me, found it to be quite similar to the Cadfael series? It stars Sean Connery and Christian Slater. And on that note, I think Sean Connery might be a pretty good actor for the Cadfael role. When I was reading the novels, Connery was Cadfael, in my mind. Anyone feel the same way?

09/07/99:Anna from Virginia wrote:

Hello. Okay, my comment is not profound of anything of that sort, but I really enjoy the casting on the show in particular. I think Jacobi is a very good Cadfael in that he can portray the geniality of the character. The only character that I believe is has been casted strangely is the role of Hugh Beringar, because of the many metamorpheses from actor to actor. I really enjoyed the first Hugh, I believe it was Sean Pertwee,( I always look at the credits because I believe that all the actors deserve recognition) correct me if I am wrong. I would like to add that I DO have a life, I just study Medieval history and like the work done on this series. In basically all the Mystery! series'. I have read all of the Cadfael chronicles, and I think that the character most fit for his role is the actor who portrays Brothe Jerome (Julian Firth?). I don't know, he's very weaselly. If anyone is indeed reading this, thank you for your time. I seldom right into thigs like this.

18/07/99:Eileen from Wenatchee, WA wrote:

I don't think there has ever been a more sublime matching of actor to fictional charecter than that of Derek Jacobi to Bro. Cadfael. The books in and of themselves are completely satisfying....but to see that wonderful monk come to life in the person of Jacobi is pure perfection.
My Celtic soul is fed to overflowing.

22/07/99:Athena from Milwaukie, Oregon USA wrote:

Please pardon the post if you've already heard of this (I'm new to the site!), but I wanted to pass along that David Austin, a breeder of English roses, created an English rose a few years ago called Brother Cadfael. I'm a fancier of heirloom plants and a great fan of All Things Cadfael, so naturally I ordered one as soon as I saw it. It's become my favorite rose and would be no matter what it was named! Beautiful HUGE pink blooms, sturdy almost thornless canes - mine here in Oregon would grow 6 to 8 feet if I let it. As with all the English roses it took a couple of seasons to fully establish itself, but WOW! It's well worth the wait (the blooms are fewer and more susceptible to the elements while it's establishing). As of 1997 the only US distributor was Heirloom Old Garden Roses (details on them at www.avagara.com/gardHOGR - their own website isn't up yet). BTW their $5 catalog is a marvel of rose lore too, especially if you're interested in heirloom plantings.! As Austin works in England I suspect that UK folks have easier access to his roses, but I don't know any UK distributors. Cheers All!

13/08/99:Tara from New York, USA wrote:

I recently saw the latest Brother Cadfael series, and was utterly disgusted that the scriptwriters saw fit to change the story of "Pilgrim of Hate" completely!! They made the good guy into the murder, they made Rhun into a snivelling hypocrite (which he is absolutely not in the book). In other words, the story was COMPLETELY changed. My question is why they felt it necessary to do this. I've been noticing more and more changes in the original books as they've continued the TV series, but this was absolutely the worst. What does everyone else think?

14/08/99:Paul Fleming from Australia wrote:

I have read all but two of the Cadfael books and will be very sorry when I've read them and there are no more. When I saw the first episode of the series I hadn't read the books, so my image of Cadfael will be forever Derek Jakobi despite the fact that he doesn't quite match the physical description. I enjoyed the first three seasons of the series a lot but was very disappointed with the first episode of the fourth season, The Holy Thief. When I saw it I hadn't read the book and I couldn't believe that the way Hugh Beringar was portrayed was the way it had been written in the book. There is a scene where he is having criminals thrown in the water to see if they float and thus prove their guilt. This just doesn't fit with the character has developed in the books at all. When I read the book I was glad to find that it was totally different. I don't think the person who adapted the screenplay had any feel for the story at all. Having said that, I still think that even a bad episode is worth watching.

06/09/99:Mary from North Carolina, USA wrote:

I thoroughly agree with Tara from New York about the distortion of the story line in The Pilgrim of Hate. The miraculous healing of Rhun is extremely important to Cadfael's sense of vindication for having left Saint Winifred's bones in Wales. Rhun's healing is the first REAL moment in the continuing story that Cadfael feels that he did the right thing and that Saint Winifred will also bless the pilgrims to Shrewsbury as well as those to Wales. The screenwriter butchered Ellis Peters' story just to add sexual interests. For those who have read all the stories and love them as I do (and re-read them often), this film version is a sacrilege. I literally howled in protest as I watched it on TV. The Holy Thief was not as badly done, but it was still not as satisfying as the stories done in the first season. None of the actors who have played Hugh Beringar have been as good as Sean Pertwee was in the first season.

13/10/99:Mélanie from Paris, France wrote:

: I just want to say that I love Sister Magdalen, she is the proper female counterpart of Brother Cadfael, she is clever, witty, she has as true a vocation as I imagine she can have after having had a life in the world, and most of all she proves that women could choose their own lives in the Middle Ages without suffering from it. I haven't seen any of the episodes on TV, but I hope she was given as good a chance as in the books.

13/10/99:Mélanie from Paris, France wrote:

I was quite disapointed in the quotes you chose, because they are all very glum and serious, and I believe that Brother Cadfael is a very cheerful and positive person, who believe in Man as much as he believes in god, who is as cunning and funny as he is earnest. By the way, French translations of the books are very bad, and if you never learnt English History at school, you get a little bit lost in the politics... I think that's it for today, bye

16/03/2000:SeaMyst from West Virginia, USA wrote:

I agree with everyone, I can't stand it when they change the book for the screenplay. Usually. There is one, however, that I think is better than the others, The Virgin In The Ice. If possible, I like the TV version better than the book. It gives another side to Brother Oswin, both of how he was horrified by his perceived "crime" - holding the young nun to keep warm - and his protectiveness over Yves at the end, when he is willing to fight Le Gaucher to help Yves. I usually don't like Brother Oswin, especially in the TV shows, but here he is pretty gallant, and very morally inclined.