It is the Anarchy, when Empress Maud's forces are rising, King Stephen is strengthening ties with needed allies, and lords of manors must choose a side.

Brother Cadfael and Abbot Radulfus must work to understand why this troubled young man thinks he is fit to be a monk.

After completing the mission that had been assigned to Clemence, Eluard rides on to urge King Stephen to visit Ranulf, Earl of Chester, and his brother, William of Roumare, at Lincoln, which suggestion is taken up.

Armed with Meriet's description, Beringar finds Clemence's horse and returns it to the Abbey stables.

Cadfael and Hugh Beringar plumb the possible connections between two events now linked only by time: the disappearance of Clemence and the appearance of Meriet at the monastery.

On a dry 3 December, Brother Mark and Meriet set out to gather firewood with the St. Giles lepers.

His father discovered him trying to hide the corpse, and he gave him a choice: to admit his guilt and be executed, or else give up the rest of his life for penance as a monk, thus saving the family honour.

After Meriet agreed to join Shrewsbury Abbey, Leoric drove the horse away and burned Clemence's body in the wood stack.

As Beringar prepares to pursue him, a messenger from King Stephen arrives, ordering the local knight-service to muster immediately; the two Earls of Chester and Lincoln have declared their independence from either side in the civil war and have set up their own kingdom in the north, taking Lincoln Castle.

Nigel and Janyn were offered castles and commands by William of Rumare on their summer visit to the northern manor.

He told his brother to run, knowing that Leoric would be heartbroken if Nigel were blamed, but unaffected if Meriet was.

When he parts from Brother Cadfael, Meriet explains how the term 'Brother' came hard to his lips in their conversations, as he wished to call him father.

Kirkus Reviews remarks that Another civilised foray into the 12th-century Benedictine monastery at Shrewsbury, where Brother Cadfael (The Virgin in the Ice, etc.)

The primary poor soul this time: Meriet, younger son of a local landowner, who wishes passionately to join the order, to leave behind his stern father and his manly brother Nigel.

Could it have to do with the disappearance of Peter Clemence, envoy of Bishop Henry of Blois, while on a peace mission to Earl Ranulf of Chester?

Well, the mystery thickens when Clemence turns up dead—while England's political mess (rival royals, private fiefdoms) adds a twist or two.

with Meriet's sharp-eyed young friend (and would-be lover) Isouda as Brother C.'s chief assistant-sleuth.

For those who've acquired the somewhat special taste: Peters' customary mix of warmth, scholarship, and first-class storytelling.

Publisher: Morrow[4]This novel is set during the Anarchy, a period of English history where the crown was held by King Stephen but challenged by his cousin Empress Maud, the only surviving legitimate child of Henry I.

Empress Maud lived in Anjou with her husband and children at the time King Henry died in 1135.

Stephen had offended some powers in the church (e.g., he seized the castles of Nigel, the bishop of Ely[5]); his brother attempted to soothe those problems as well, at a peace conference at Bath that ultimately failed.

The story is set in real places, including Shrewsbury Abbey[6] and the city of Shrewsbury, mentioning events taking place in Winchester where Stephen called his lords and sheriffs together at Michaelmas for reckoning of rents and updates on status of his allies.

The priest headed to Whitchurch after leaving the Aspley manor, a market town of Shropshire, about 20 to 25 miles on modern roads from Shrewsbury.

Leoric Aspley's second manor is near Newark, over 100 miles northeast on modern roads from Shrewsbury and in the vicinity of Lincoln, an area where allegiances were not yet settled between King and Empress.

Fantastic Fiction lists English language editions: 4 audio cassette and 3 audio CD issued from 1993 to February 2013 (ISBN 1433265117 / 9781433265112, Publisher Blackstone Audiobooks); 9 paperbacks from December 1985 to April 2012; 5 hardback editions from August 1983 to July 2000.

[7] Goodreads lists 28 editions of The Devil's Novice in English, Italian, French, Portuguese, Swedish, German, Dutch.