• The Virgin in the Ice

  • The Sixth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
  • By: Ellis Peters
  • Narrated by: Vanessa Benjamin
  • Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (322 ratings)

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The Virgin in the Ice  By  cover art

The Virgin in the Ice

By: Ellis Peters
Narrated by: Vanessa Benjamin
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Publisher's summary

The winter of 1139 will disrupt Brother Cadfael's tranquil life in Shrewsbury with the most disturbing events. Raging civil war has sent refugees fleeing north from Worcester. Among them are two orphans from a noble family, a boy of thirteen and an 18-year-old girl of great beauty, and their companion, a young Benedictine nun. But the trio, never reaching Shrewsbury, have disappeared somewhere in the wild countryside.

Cadfael feels afraid these three lost lambs, but another call for help sends him to the Church of Saint Mary. A wounded monk, found naked and bleeding by the roadside, will surely die without Cadfael's healing arts. Why this holy man has been attacked and what his fevered ravings reveal soon give Brother Cadfael a clue to the fate of the missing travelers. Now Cadfael sets out on a dangerous quest to find them. The road will lead him to a chill and terrible murder and a tale of passion gone awry. And at journey's end awaits a vision of what is best, and worst, in humankind...in Ellis Peters's most stunning depiction yet of love and war.

©1982 by Ellis Peters (P)1998 by Blackstone Audiobooks

What listeners say about The Virgin in the Ice

Average customer ratings
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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent story, narrator a bit rough

Having listened to Ward narrate the previous books, I really can't listen to Benjamin's voices for male characters. She sounds as though she's telling a story to little children and using her "big bad wolf" gruff voice. I shall repurchase this title with the Thorne narration.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Good story marred by poor reader

The story is up to Peters' usual standard. Unfortunately, the reader seems unable to offer a Welsh accent, and all the male characters sound the same, which caused me a lot of confusion at times. The 13 year old male character sounded like a 6 year old. Poor narration.
Unfortunately, in Australia, we are unable to download the version with the male narrator. Pity.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

THE BEST

I have listen to a lot of Ellis Peters', Brother Cadfael books and this is my favorite so far. Reader is very good. Look forward to downloading the 2 or 3 Ellis Peters i do not have.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

well worth the re/re-read

Ellis Peter always brings out aspects of human behavior to be admired or shunned. The Virgin in the Ice certainly upholds these patterns. starting with the basic premise of families torn asunder by the ongoing Civil War and/or outlaws, she forms a tale of Love based on admired behaviors, and tops it with a glimpse of Cadfael's back story which raises the readers opinion of him to even-higher levels.so much packed into one slim volume.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Sooooooo boring

Any additional comments?

I've been enjoying the Brother Cadfael series but after several hours of listening, I have to give up on this one. After a promising start, the story unravels into one group of people travelling across country looking for one person, another couple heading out looking for someone else, yet another one travelling here and there. It goes on and on and on with little or no action other than riding or walking about. I suppose at some point someone will find someone else but I've reached the end of caring.

As others have mentioned, the narrator is not very good at male voices. She has a lovely speaking voice but tries a bit too hard with the male voices. She's also a bit louder with the male voices, which resulted in my constantly adjusting the volume. Life is too short for this kind of aggravation!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Some.scratches

Overall decent quality and narration, although Cadfael's voice by this narrator does not fit him as well as other narrators. There are some scratches in the audio, but nothing that ruins the entire production.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Glad to have this in my library!

As I work my way thru the Cadfael canon, I’ve discovered that it’s more difficult to find some books than others. Several titles just aren’t available in our library (and hard to find or too pricey to purchase online). Grateful that audible has them all.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb writing!

Ellis Peters’ writing is very fine, charged with emotion and unique viewpoints. The narration is excellent as well!

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Terrible narration

She doesn’t understand the male characters at all. She just belts out every sentence like a carnival barker with absolutely no nuance or characterization in their voices.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

More than just a mystery

Ellis peters manages to weave in some basic truths about life in general, while exposing the reader to life so long ago.

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