I’m in the middle of Essex Dogs by Dan Jones right now. Gritty slice of life book with accurate seeming details. Lots of fun but it makes 700 years of distance feel almost too close for comfort.
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Try the Brother Cadfael series of mysteries by Ellis Peters.
Brother Cadfael is a Welsh former Crusader who became a monk in an English monastery when he retired in his mid-50’s and serves the monastery as their herbalist.
As a MC he’s lead a very interesting, very worldly life and has a very clear-eyed view of his fellow monks and intra-monastery political maneuvering. He is definitely not holier than thou and often hides behind a pillar during sermons so he can catch up on his sleep. Nothing in the books is preachy.
The first third of each novel is the history of the times as experienced through the characters lives. It’s a slow, easy open.
Then, a crime occurs.
The middle third of the book is Brother Cadfael’s examination of all potential suspects/motives, often the crime being dependent on existing technology/geography and travel times/social structure of the times.
The final third of the novel Brother Cadfael solves the case and readers find out who did it, what (if any) the punishment is and how the characters react.
Ellis Peters did exhaustive research for her books and not only are the books easy to absorb the reader winds up painlessly learning a great deal of medieval life in England.
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I’m in the middle of Essex Dogs by Dan Jones right now. Gritty slice of life book with accurate seeming details. Lots of fun but it makes 700 years of distance feel almost too close for comfort.
Try the Brother Cadfael series of mysteries by Ellis Peters.
Brother Cadfael is a Welsh former Crusader who became a monk in an English monastery when he retired in his mid-50’s and serves the monastery as their herbalist.
As a MC he’s lead a very interesting, very worldly life and has a very clear-eyed view of his fellow monks and intra-monastery political maneuvering. He is definitely not holier than thou and often hides behind a pillar during sermons so he can catch up on his sleep. Nothing in the books is preachy.
The first third of each novel is the history of the times as experienced through the characters lives. It’s a slow, easy open.
Then, a crime occurs.
The middle third of the book is Brother Cadfael’s examination of all potential suspects/motives, often the crime being dependent on existing technology/geography and travel times/social structure of the times.
The final third of the novel Brother Cadfael solves the case and readers find out who did it, what (if any) the punishment is and how the characters react.
Ellis Peters did exhaustive research for her books and not only are the books easy to absorb the reader winds up painlessly learning a great deal of medieval life in England.