The Rose Rent, by Ellis Peters

The thirteenth novel in the Brother Cadfael series, which I am reading a bit out of order right now by mistake [1], this novel is one that strikes rather close to me in several ways, as has been the case with several of these excellent mysteries. The setup of the novel’s plot is as follows: a young widow distraught over being left without her handsome husband and a miscarried child gives a bequest to the local abbey for free use of a house (which is let to an honorable and decent widower with a young daughter) with a required rent of a single fragrant white rose per year. The young monk, raised since infancy in the abbey, who has been given the responsibility of giving the rose becomes increasingly distraught because of an unrequited love for the widow, too deep in her own gloom to recognize the power she has over men both for her native grace and sweetness, as well as for her own considerable holdings as a respectable tradeswoman. What follow are two parallel plots, one focused on ridding the abbey of its property by destroying the rosebush that pays the rent, and the other focused on kidnapping the widow to induce her to accept marriage.

What is most notable about this particular novel is its keen grasp of characters. As one gets far enough into a series, there are many blessings to be found in the complexities of people and their interactions. Here we have the insatiably curious Cadfael, trying to solve a complicated case, always in the perfect place to catch clues and discover dead bodies, even when their importance cannot be guessed. We have a young widow too self-absorbed in her own sadness to fully recognize her attractiveness and its serious consequences. We have ambitions aplenty, as well as deeply sorrowful and overly sensitive hearts burdened by hopeless attraction, yet honorable and decent.

As far as its plot is concerned, this is a tightly plotted work that depends on some guesswork and some confession, and the twist, while mildly surprising, is not far-fetched. The existence of the double-plot, or even triple plot at parts, is itself intriguing and noteworthy, and the novel is very touching in its portrayal of the innocence of children and the resourcefulness of women. These strong portrayals add a certain amount of depth to what is at its heart a conservative morality tale about the dangers of greed or obsessive love. The lessons are well-heeded, the characters portrayed complex souls in deep turmoil, trying to make sense of a grim and complicated world full of peril, even as enough beauty and decency remains to remind us that life should not be as it is.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2015/01/31/book-review-a-morbid-taste-for-bones/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2015/01/31/book-review-one-corpse-too-many/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2015/02/10/book-review-monks-hood/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2015/02/11/book-review-st-peters-fair/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2015/02/13/book-review-the-leper-of-st-giles/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2015/02/24/book-review-the-virgin-in-the-ice/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2015/02/25/book-review-the-sanctuary-sparrow/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2015/02/26/book-review-the-devils-novice/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2015/03/10/book-review-dead-mans-ransom/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2015/03/12/book-review-the-pilgrim-of-hate/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2015/03/13/book-review-an-excellent-mystery/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2015/03/30/book-review-the-hermit-of-eyton-forest/