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Heaven Tree #1-3
The Heaven Tree Trilogy: The Heaven Tree / The Green Branch / The Scarlet Seed
A trilogy of novels set in thirteenth-century England and Wales--The Heaven Tree, The Green Branch, and The Scarlet Seed--chronicles the adventures of master stone carver Harry Talvace; Ralf Isambard, Lord of Parfois; and their two sons.
Set on the volatile, hotly disputed Welsh border, this full-bodied, swift-moving story of deadly politics, clashing armies, and private passions sweeps the reader into its characters' grand quest for justice and vengeance. The trilogy focuses on Harry Talvace, who bears stamped on his face the lineage of Shrewsbury's Norman conquerors. Born to aristocratic parents and nursed by a stone mason's wife, he grows up fiercely loyal to his breast-brother, the sunny, irresistibly charming Adam. Harry also discovers that he has a gift--the ability to carve stone with the sure hand of genius.
In his fifteenth year, Harry's devotion to Adam and his obsession to sculpt set into motion the thrilling tale of Volume One, The Heaven Tree. Rebelling against his father and fleeing England to save Adam, Harry finds his destiny entangled in the affairs of commoners and kings, divided by two women--the courageous dark-haired Gilleis and the beautiful courtesan Benedetta--and pledged to the brooding, mysterious Lord of Parfois, Ralf Isambard, who sponsors Harry's monumental creation of a cathedral. And while Wales and France challenge England's crown, these men and women follow their desires toward jealousy, pitiless revenge, and passion so madly glorious neither time nor a merciless execution can end it.
In Volume Two, The Green Branch, Harry's son, young Harry Talvace, is drawn into the fabulous intrigues of the court of Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, and bound by a blood oath to find and kill his father's old enemy, Isambard. Yet the threads that bind his life to the ruthless Isambard are not so easily severed, as Harry falls under the spell of the aging warrior lord.
The concluding volume, The Scarlet Seed, brings full circle this tale of implacable enmity and unshakeable loyalty. As a kingdom shudders under the flames of civil war and captor becomes captive, the final siege of Parfois creates a climax to this tale so majestic, noble, and heartbreaking no reader will ever forget it.
Set on the volatile, hotly disputed Welsh border, this full-bodied, swift-moving story of deadly politics, clashing armies, and private passions sweeps the reader into its characters' grand quest for justice and vengeance. The trilogy focuses on Harry Talvace, who bears stamped on his face the lineage of Shrewsbury's Norman conquerors. Born to aristocratic parents and nursed by a stone mason's wife, he grows up fiercely loyal to his breast-brother, the sunny, irresistibly charming Adam. Harry also discovers that he has a gift--the ability to carve stone with the sure hand of genius.
In his fifteenth year, Harry's devotion to Adam and his obsession to sculpt set into motion the thrilling tale of Volume One, The Heaven Tree. Rebelling against his father and fleeing England to save Adam, Harry finds his destiny entangled in the affairs of commoners and kings, divided by two women--the courageous dark-haired Gilleis and the beautiful courtesan Benedetta--and pledged to the brooding, mysterious Lord of Parfois, Ralf Isambard, who sponsors Harry's monumental creation of a cathedral. And while Wales and France challenge England's crown, these men and women follow their desires toward jealousy, pitiless revenge, and passion so madly glorious neither time nor a merciless execution can end it.
In Volume Two, The Green Branch, Harry's son, young Harry Talvace, is drawn into the fabulous intrigues of the court of Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, and bound by a blood oath to find and kill his father's old enemy, Isambard. Yet the threads that bind his life to the ruthless Isambard are not so easily severed, as Harry falls under the spell of the aging warrior lord.
The concluding volume, The Scarlet Seed, brings full circle this tale of implacable enmity and unshakeable loyalty. As a kingdom shudders under the flames of civil war and captor becomes captive, the final siege of Parfois creates a climax to this tale so majestic, noble, and heartbreaking no reader will ever forget it.
899 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1960
37 people are currently reading
2889 people want to read
About the author
Edith Pargeter
48 books188 followersaka Peter Benedict, Jolyon Carr, Ellis Peters (later editions of her work are sometimes published under this pseudonym), and John Redfern
West Midlands Literary Heritage website biography
Novelist. Born September 1913 at Horsehay, Shropshire. Her father was a clerk at a local ironworks. Edith attended Dawley Church of England School and the Coalbrookdale High School for Girls. Through her mother, she grew to love the history and countryside of Shropshire, her home for all of her life.
Before World War II she worked as a chemist's assistant at Dawley. During this time she started writing seriously for publication while gathering useful information on medicines that she would draw upon later when tackling crime stories. Her first published novel was Hortensius, friend of Nero (1936), a rather dry tale of martyrdom that was not a great success but she persevered and The city lies foursquare (1939) was much more warmly received.
During the war she worked in an administrative role with the Women's Royal Navy Service in Liverpool, a relatively brief period away from Shropshire, and for her devotion to duty she received the British Empire Medal. Many more novels appeared at this time, including Ordinary people (1941) and She goes to war (1942), the latter based on her own wartime experiences. The eighth champion of Christendom appeared in 1945 and from now on she was able to devote all her time to writing. She was particularly proud of her Heaven tree trilogy, which appeared between 1961 and 1963, which had as a backdrop the English Welsh borderlands in the twelfth century.
It was not until 1951 that she tackled a mystery story with Fallen into the pit, the first appearance of Sergeant George Felse as the investigating police officer. Her other great character, and the one for which the author will continue to be known the world over, Brother Cadfael, was to follow many years later. The first appearance of this monk at Shrewsbury Abbey was in A morbid taste for bones (1977) and he mixed his herbs and unravelled mysteries in this atmospheric setting for a further nineteen novels. This kept the author very busy for the remaining 18 years of her life, to the virtual exclusion of all other work.
The name "Ellis Peters" was adopted by Edith Pargeter to clearly mark a division between her mystery stories and her other work. Her brother was Ellis and Petra was a friend from Czechoslovakia. A frequent visitor to the country, Edith Pargeter had begun her association and deep interest in their culture after meeting Czechoslovakian soldiers during the war. This was to lead to her learning the language translating several books into English.
She won awards for her writing from both the British Crime Writers Association and the Mystery Writers of America. She was also awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire), an honorary Masters Degree from Birmingham University and the Gold Medal of the Czechoslovak Society for Foreign Relations. There is a memorial to her in Shrewsbury Abbey.
After her death in October 1995, The Times published a full obituary that declared that here was "a deeply sensitive and perceptive woman....an intensely private and modest person " whose writing was "direct, even a little stilted, matching a self-contained personality".
West Midlands Literary Heritage website biography
Novelist. Born September 1913 at Horsehay, Shropshire. Her father was a clerk at a local ironworks. Edith attended Dawley Church of England School and the Coalbrookdale High School for Girls. Through her mother, she grew to love the history and countryside of Shropshire, her home for all of her life.
Before World War II she worked as a chemist's assistant at Dawley. During this time she started writing seriously for publication while gathering useful information on medicines that she would draw upon later when tackling crime stories. Her first published novel was Hortensius, friend of Nero (1936), a rather dry tale of martyrdom that was not a great success but she persevered and The city lies foursquare (1939) was much more warmly received.
During the war she worked in an administrative role with the Women's Royal Navy Service in Liverpool, a relatively brief period away from Shropshire, and for her devotion to duty she received the British Empire Medal. Many more novels appeared at this time, including Ordinary people (1941) and She goes to war (1942), the latter based on her own wartime experiences. The eighth champion of Christendom appeared in 1945 and from now on she was able to devote all her time to writing. She was particularly proud of her Heaven tree trilogy, which appeared between 1961 and 1963, which had as a backdrop the English Welsh borderlands in the twelfth century.
It was not until 1951 that she tackled a mystery story with Fallen into the pit, the first appearance of Sergeant George Felse as the investigating police officer. Her other great character, and the one for which the author will continue to be known the world over, Brother Cadfael, was to follow many years later. The first appearance of this monk at Shrewsbury Abbey was in A morbid taste for bones (1977) and he mixed his herbs and unravelled mysteries in this atmospheric setting for a further nineteen novels. This kept the author very busy for the remaining 18 years of her life, to the virtual exclusion of all other work.
The name "Ellis Peters" was adopted by Edith Pargeter to clearly mark a division between her mystery stories and her other work. Her brother was Ellis and Petra was a friend from Czechoslovakia. A frequent visitor to the country, Edith Pargeter had begun her association and deep interest in their culture after meeting Czechoslovakian soldiers during the war. This was to lead to her learning the language translating several books into English.
She won awards for her writing from both the British Crime Writers Association and the Mystery Writers of America. She was also awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire), an honorary Masters Degree from Birmingham University and the Gold Medal of the Czechoslovak Society for Foreign Relations. There is a memorial to her in Shrewsbury Abbey.
After her death in October 1995, The Times published a full obituary that declared that here was "a deeply sensitive and perceptive woman....an intensely private and modest person " whose writing was "direct, even a little stilted, matching a self-contained personality".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews
May 11, 2009
This is one of the finest historical fiction novels out there. Technically it's three novels, but they all blur into one. The story revolves around a trio of people bound together in ways they don't understand: a ruthless English lord, his enigmatic Italian mistress, and the talented stonemason who builds the lord's cathedral. The characters are wonders. The stonemason hero is so pure and good he is nearly a saint, yet without ever being saccharine or unrealistic. The lord is a villain who earns first our undying hatred, and then our unwilling love as he redeems himself. A miracle of a book.
July 6, 2025
This book has rich depth and incredible characters, one of the best written antagonists I have ever encountered. Shows the period with far more subtlety and nuance than more recent historical fiction, and for the building of a cathedral, puts the 'more famous' novel on the subject to shame.
This book also emphasizes the artist, and the relationship with patronage - omitted elsewhere.
One of my all time favorite reads, holds up to scrutiny - I miss that books are not written this way, modern trends have taken so much with oversimplified language, across the board.
Note: Edith Pargeter also wrote the Brother Cadfael mysteries, under a pseudonym.
This book also emphasizes the artist, and the relationship with patronage - omitted elsewhere.
One of my all time favorite reads, holds up to scrutiny - I miss that books are not written this way, modern trends have taken so much with oversimplified language, across the board.
Note: Edith Pargeter also wrote the Brother Cadfael mysteries, under a pseudonym.
August 20, 2008
The first book in the trilogy, The Heaven Tree, tells the story of master stonemason Harry Talvace as he is hired by Ralf Isambard to build him a great cathedral at Parfois along the Welsh Marches. Isambard also brings courtesan Benedetta along with him as mistress, although he is unaware that Benedetta bears a lifelong unrequited love for Harry. Harry makes a desperate choice to save a child from hanging that has dire consequences for himself, his wife and Benedetta, although Harry returns to his commitment to complete the cathedral despite the sentence of a traitor's death hanging over him.
The Green Branch, the second book in the trilogy takes up the story of Master Harry's son (also called Harry) who has been raised in Wales as a foster son to Prince Llewellyn. Harry is unknowingly drawn into the adulterous affair between Llewellyn's wife Joan (also known as Joanna) and William de Braose, and as a result of the scandal Harry flees Llewellyn's court and heads to Parfois to enact his revenge against Isambard for his father's death, but fifteen year old Harry is no match for Isambard and is taken prisoner. Ralph refuses to ransom Harry back to his family, and eventually the hatred that first existed between the two sworn enemies develops into something very different and unexpected to both men.
In the final book, The Scarlet Seed, Harry continues to learn the masonry craft of his father whilst still being held prisoner by Isambard. Desperate to free Harry, Benedetta offers Isambard another hostage, one he cannot refuse, but a choice unacceptable to Benedetta's servant John the Fletcher. John makes an attempt on Ralph's life that takes a tragic turn, and as a consequence the jailer now becomes the prisoner in his own home. As the Marches explode into civil war, the Welsh storm the unassailable Parfois and the fates of Isambard, Madonna Benedetta and Master Harry are forever entwined through eternity.
While the start of The Heaven Tree may be a bit too slow paced for some readers, Pargeter's beautiful prose and lyrical writing is one to sit back and slowly savor like a fine red wine or chocolate (or both!!) and I highly recommend this for any lover of medieval fiction. It's not quite as perfect a read for me as Penman's Here Be Dragons, but pretty darn close, and that final scene in the cathedral between Isambard, Benedetta and Master Harry (I'm not telling!) was nothing short of perfection. Five stars.
The Green Branch, the second book in the trilogy takes up the story of Master Harry's son (also called Harry) who has been raised in Wales as a foster son to Prince Llewellyn. Harry is unknowingly drawn into the adulterous affair between Llewellyn's wife Joan (also known as Joanna) and William de Braose, and as a result of the scandal Harry flees Llewellyn's court and heads to Parfois to enact his revenge against Isambard for his father's death, but fifteen year old Harry is no match for Isambard and is taken prisoner. Ralph refuses to ransom Harry back to his family, and eventually the hatred that first existed between the two sworn enemies develops into something very different and unexpected to both men.
In the final book, The Scarlet Seed, Harry continues to learn the masonry craft of his father whilst still being held prisoner by Isambard. Desperate to free Harry, Benedetta offers Isambard another hostage, one he cannot refuse, but a choice unacceptable to Benedetta's servant John the Fletcher. John makes an attempt on Ralph's life that takes a tragic turn, and as a consequence the jailer now becomes the prisoner in his own home. As the Marches explode into civil war, the Welsh storm the unassailable Parfois and the fates of Isambard, Madonna Benedetta and Master Harry are forever entwined through eternity.
While the start of The Heaven Tree may be a bit too slow paced for some readers, Pargeter's beautiful prose and lyrical writing is one to sit back and slowly savor like a fine red wine or chocolate (or both!!) and I highly recommend this for any lover of medieval fiction. It's not quite as perfect a read for me as Penman's Here Be Dragons, but pretty darn close, and that final scene in the cathedral between Isambard, Benedetta and Master Harry (I'm not telling!) was nothing short of perfection. Five stars.
September 26, 2020
If you like the Brother Cadfael series by the same author, or Ken Follet's historical building books, then I suggest trying the first book of this series. For me the story is superior to the Follett epics. Would recommend, too, the fans of Sharon Penman's 'Here Be Dragons'
***
sample - page 188 :
"Harry went on foot through the town, downhill by the curving streets in the sharp, cool light of the morning. Nine years had not greatly changed Shrewsbury. The narrow shop-fronts between their dark, timbered portals, the leaning gables serrated against the pale, pearly sky were as he remembered them, and the people who rubbed shoulders with him were unfamiliar only in a degree of quietness and reserve, almost of suspicion, as though strangers were no longer so frequent or so welcome as once they had been. A sign of the times, like the silence of the bells. Here in the town which had been his home he felt the want of them again like a gnawing hunger. At this hour of the morning the roofs should have been rocking with sound; but for over a year now all the bells of England had been stilled, all the churches closed, the brides bedded with clandestine ceremonies or none, the dead buried without rites, in pits by the roadside. And the king, acting with as great audacity as the Pope, and as little regard for the efforts of his strategy on the innocent and helpless, had appropriated to himself all the lands and rents and properties of the church ... Without income neither clerics nor monastics could feed themselves, much less provide for the sick and poor around them ... Innocent struck at John, John struck at Innocent, and both blows fell on the poor man in his field ... All over the appointment of an archbishop!
"But no, it was less simple than that, that was the chosen occasion, not the cause. This Pope, able, brilliant and ambitious, was an emperor lost, and saw Christendom as a temporal as well as a spiritual empire; and John, the most stiff-necked of the princes of Christendom, and the one most likely to see his island kingdom as a secular force with an integrity of its own, stood squarely in his way. In their trial of strength, the people of England were the pawns, expendable until the want of them threatened to decide the game."
Page 202 :
"A noble space, and a marvelous setting. The faint luminosity of the rock, the harvest of the day's stored sunlight, seemed to float a foot or two in air over the place, as though the walls had already begun to rise. The north face would be presented to view from the castle, the south from the climbing track. He must consider the whole group, castle and church together, the counterpoise between them here, the unity they would present to those who looked up at the from the valleys on either side, the greater valley of the Severn to the west ...
***
A copied KIRKUS REVIEW
"A robust and majestically peopled and paced medieval trilogy-- a stormy tale of thunderous dark passions and spiritual triumphs-- in a one-volume collection of two hitherto-out-of-print novels and one never-before published here: from the author, as Ellis Peters, of the hugely popular Brother Cadfael mysteries. The Heaven Tree (1960) begins the story of stone mason Harry Talvace, who is brought to ``Parfois,'' in Shrewsbury, by Ralf Isambard, to create a church. In the reign of King John, however, English/Welsh conflicts heat, and Isambard, Lord of Parfois, orders Harry horribly killed for treason. Meanwhile, Isambard's mistress, Benedetta, refusing marriage, is bound to the corpse to perish but narrowly escapes death. Then, in The Green Branch (1962), young Harry, son of the craftsman--who had finished his church in chains- -matches wits with the Lord of Parfois, awaiting revenge. Finally, in The Scarlet Seed--in its first US appearance--all the old horrors and griefs, rages and revenges, will shrivel and dissipate. The Lord Isambard (tall, lean, ``a dark recollection of beauty'') reveals a heart in agony and a painful growing love of his ``son,'' young Harry. Eventually, while war rages betwen the English and Welsh, old man Isambard and Benedetta will die magnificently, Aida- fashion, in the boarded-up church; and young Harry will find a bride, see war as both an Englishman and Welshman, witness the end of Parfois--and of hatred--and know that his father's church, now in fragments, ``will wear out the stone. Eyes that have once seen it see all things differently thereafter.'' Pargeter's work is remarkable for its consistent high seriousness, and, here, once again, she manages to give appropriate shading to both the barbarous and spiritual in the medieval mind. These are mighty beings and Pargeter gives them mighty deaths and revelations. Occasionally the prose may wobble on the edge of purple, but there's always a quick-step recovery into Pargeter's usual supple and solemnly lyrical narration. A quite grand affair.
***
***
sample - page 188 :
"Harry went on foot through the town, downhill by the curving streets in the sharp, cool light of the morning. Nine years had not greatly changed Shrewsbury. The narrow shop-fronts between their dark, timbered portals, the leaning gables serrated against the pale, pearly sky were as he remembered them, and the people who rubbed shoulders with him were unfamiliar only in a degree of quietness and reserve, almost of suspicion, as though strangers were no longer so frequent or so welcome as once they had been. A sign of the times, like the silence of the bells. Here in the town which had been his home he felt the want of them again like a gnawing hunger. At this hour of the morning the roofs should have been rocking with sound; but for over a year now all the bells of England had been stilled, all the churches closed, the brides bedded with clandestine ceremonies or none, the dead buried without rites, in pits by the roadside. And the king, acting with as great audacity as the Pope, and as little regard for the efforts of his strategy on the innocent and helpless, had appropriated to himself all the lands and rents and properties of the church ... Without income neither clerics nor monastics could feed themselves, much less provide for the sick and poor around them ... Innocent struck at John, John struck at Innocent, and both blows fell on the poor man in his field ... All over the appointment of an archbishop!
"But no, it was less simple than that, that was the chosen occasion, not the cause. This Pope, able, brilliant and ambitious, was an emperor lost, and saw Christendom as a temporal as well as a spiritual empire; and John, the most stiff-necked of the princes of Christendom, and the one most likely to see his island kingdom as a secular force with an integrity of its own, stood squarely in his way. In their trial of strength, the people of England were the pawns, expendable until the want of them threatened to decide the game."
Page 202 :
"A noble space, and a marvelous setting. The faint luminosity of the rock, the harvest of the day's stored sunlight, seemed to float a foot or two in air over the place, as though the walls had already begun to rise. The north face would be presented to view from the castle, the south from the climbing track. He must consider the whole group, castle and church together, the counterpoise between them here, the unity they would present to those who looked up at the from the valleys on either side, the greater valley of the Severn to the west ...
***
A copied KIRKUS REVIEW
"A robust and majestically peopled and paced medieval trilogy-- a stormy tale of thunderous dark passions and spiritual triumphs-- in a one-volume collection of two hitherto-out-of-print novels and one never-before published here: from the author, as Ellis Peters, of the hugely popular Brother Cadfael mysteries. The Heaven Tree (1960) begins the story of stone mason Harry Talvace, who is brought to ``Parfois,'' in Shrewsbury, by Ralf Isambard, to create a church. In the reign of King John, however, English/Welsh conflicts heat, and Isambard, Lord of Parfois, orders Harry horribly killed for treason. Meanwhile, Isambard's mistress, Benedetta, refusing marriage, is bound to the corpse to perish but narrowly escapes death. Then, in The Green Branch (1962), young Harry, son of the craftsman--who had finished his church in chains- -matches wits with the Lord of Parfois, awaiting revenge. Finally, in The Scarlet Seed--in its first US appearance--all the old horrors and griefs, rages and revenges, will shrivel and dissipate. The Lord Isambard (tall, lean, ``a dark recollection of beauty'') reveals a heart in agony and a painful growing love of his ``son,'' young Harry. Eventually, while war rages betwen the English and Welsh, old man Isambard and Benedetta will die magnificently, Aida- fashion, in the boarded-up church; and young Harry will find a bride, see war as both an Englishman and Welshman, witness the end of Parfois--and of hatred--and know that his father's church, now in fragments, ``will wear out the stone. Eyes that have once seen it see all things differently thereafter.'' Pargeter's work is remarkable for its consistent high seriousness, and, here, once again, she manages to give appropriate shading to both the barbarous and spiritual in the medieval mind. These are mighty beings and Pargeter gives them mighty deaths and revelations. Occasionally the prose may wobble on the edge of purple, but there's always a quick-step recovery into Pargeter's usual supple and solemnly lyrical narration. A quite grand affair.
***
February 9, 2019
This is a rich trilogy, full of powerful themes, genuine wisdom and historical references.
As I finished it, I was pondering Pargeter's examination of paradox. This series is about:
life and death
defeat and victory
betrayal and loyalty
honor and wickedness
revenge and forgiveness
suffering and joy
despair and hope
creation and destruction
endings and regeneration
royalty and tradesman
nobility and servants
feeling and reason
truth and falsehood
captivity and freedom.
Additional themes are politics, personal ambition, art & beauty, the making/ developing/ character of a man. Speaking of men, the friendship between the two leading men is wonderfully done. Both men are strong characters, who respect and help each other throughout their lives, and model the kind of friendship we all treasure.
This is a series to be read and reread. For men, there are strong male leads, and women there are touches of romance. For both, it is steeped in English middle ages history. I give it my highest recommendation.
For reviews of the three books in this trilogy, start here...
The Heaven Tree (Heaven Tree Trilogy Book #1), Pargeter, 1960
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Where to go from here if you've read it?
For a fictional look at conflict between good and evil, that has a medieval feel, see
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Tolkien, 1955
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
For a fictional look at war, but in a dystopian/ futuristic setting, see
The Hunger Games Trilogy, Collins, 2010
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
As I finished it, I was pondering Pargeter's examination of paradox. This series is about:
life and death
defeat and victory
betrayal and loyalty
honor and wickedness
revenge and forgiveness
suffering and joy
despair and hope
creation and destruction
endings and regeneration
royalty and tradesman
nobility and servants
feeling and reason
truth and falsehood
captivity and freedom.
Additional themes are politics, personal ambition, art & beauty, the making/ developing/ character of a man. Speaking of men, the friendship between the two leading men is wonderfully done. Both men are strong characters, who respect and help each other throughout their lives, and model the kind of friendship we all treasure.
This is a series to be read and reread. For men, there are strong male leads, and women there are touches of romance. For both, it is steeped in English middle ages history. I give it my highest recommendation.
For reviews of the three books in this trilogy, start here...
The Heaven Tree (Heaven Tree Trilogy Book #1), Pargeter, 1960
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Where to go from here if you've read it?
For a fictional look at conflict between good and evil, that has a medieval feel, see
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Tolkien, 1955
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
For a fictional look at war, but in a dystopian/ futuristic setting, see
The Hunger Games Trilogy, Collins, 2010
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
August 7, 2007
I think I read the first book in the trilogy around 1993 or '94. Not sure when I finished them. Brilliant writing, profoundly moving, redemptive, thought-provoking. Takes place in the Middle Ages. Central character an artist of great integrity. Harder to find in this country. Edith Pargeter is the real name of Ellis Peters, author of the Brother Cadfael mysteries. The Heaven Tree was, by her admission, her best work, and I'd have to agree.
July 18, 2009
I bought these books in a bookstall in the Leeds train station in 1969, when I was 15, and they rocketed to the top of my favorites list, where they remain to this day. Fascinating characters, a great story. Until I discovered Dorothy Dunnett, these were the measuring stick by which I measured all other historical fiction.
April 16, 2010
For some reason, I didn’t really like it all that much until about 300 pages in. Around 600 pages, I started really enjoying it, and by the 800th page I was in love. I can’t put my finger on why I don’t love it as a whole, though. There’s something, some flaw or inconsistency that puts my teeth on edge and keeps me from loving it the way I love that type of book. The only thing I can come up with is that Pargeter reminds me of my own writing (though hers is obviously better). She used the same plot twists I would’ve, the same style of dialogue, and I could predict exactly what was going to happen down to the words that the character was going to say, sometimes. Not because the book was exceptionally predictable, but just because it’s what I would’ve had happen next in the plot or what I would’ve made the character say as well. Her flaws remind me of my flaws. She has characters touch each other too often. Not in a weird way or anything, but people are forever putting a bracing hand on someone’s shoulder or hugging someone or nudging someone, things like that. For me, I do the same thing with facial expressions, particularly smiles. No one in real life smiles as much as I write that they do. It’s not that my people are particularly happy characters: sometimes they smile grimly, or grimace, or grin viciously, but they’re always smiling, and I have to go through a story once I’ve written it and pull out fully half of the smiles before the blasted thing is anywhere near realistic. Pargeter’s physical contact is my smiling. But aside from that, I really did ultimately love the book, and I highly recommend it. Even if you don’t read the book, just read her introduction. It’s only 2 pages long, and it’s beautiful in itself, the way she talks about her story.
August 4, 2011
4.5 stars. 1200-1235 England. A war on the border of Wales and England. An autocratic tyrant of a lord hires a creative genius to build a cathedral for him. This is the story of Harry the sculptor and stone mason; Isambard, the lord of Parfois, a medieval castle at the border of Wales, and Madonna Bennedetta, the beautiful woman loved by Isambard who loves Harry. A rather routine love triangle, a story that is anything but routine. The three books tell the story of them, and then Harry's son; the four of them inextricably bound in love and envy and hatred and tragedy and ultimately forgiveness and compassion. Very moving. Very powerful. Masterfully told, beautifully wrought in the subtlety and power of the relationships between the four. Well worth reading. Infinitely better than the much vaunted Pillars of the Earth.
August 22, 2010
This trilogy had all my favorite things. History of Wales and England during the turbulent 13th century, stone masons building a church much like Pillars of the Earth, characters you either hated or loved, and each edition left me needing to pick up the next book to see what happened. I even liked the way it ended, weaving together all of the pieces rather seamlessly. I loved it.
January 28, 2013
I read this quite recently which is amazing since I read other Edith Pargeter works when her books were more contemporary. I loved this trilogy - I bought each book separately from picking one up in a charity shop. the beauty of the words, the romance, that harshness of the times - wondrous stuff.. the books are on my shelf for me to re-discover in a few years time...
January 22, 2011
I have no words. This book is intense, deep, and enveloping- passionate, rich, and indescribably wonderful. Any lover of Tolkien, fan of historical fiction, or romantic should read it. Simple as that.
January 10, 2019
The writing in this historical novel was beautiful and engaging, and the characters were vivid. The setting—the Welsh border of England during the reign of King John—provided plenty of tension and violence to carry the plot. I loved the first third of the book and wished it had continued in a similar vein throughout.
What I didn’t love, however, was the too-good-to-be-true goodness of Harry, the hero of the story, whose only “flaw” seems to be his sense of compassionate justice that sets him at deadly odds with the cruel (medieval!) letter of the law. And I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief over the almost soap-operatic romance that carries through the latter chapters.
That, after a long series of lovers, Lady Benedetta would suddenly swear her undying—but unrequited—love for Harry, then follow him across the seas, and never swerve in her purpose “until death do they part,” so to speak, while simultaneously remaining unalterably “faithful” to her loveless cohabitation contract to Harry’s nemesis just bugged me no end. Who would actually do that? Especially a woman who had made a life habit of jumping into bed with one man after another? She’s does prove to be a lively and interesting character, but sorry, nope. Just not buying it.
And the miserable and eeee-villl (like the frrrooo-its of the dev-illl) Isambard didn’t work for me either. He’s just *too* much of a black hat—too heartless, too inhumane. By contrast, Harry’s unalloyed virtue, his Edenic marriage, and his perfect skill and delight in his work, alongside his wife’s virtually faultless kindness and affection made their relationship seem too one-dimensional and sentimental. (And can we talk about how they get together? Her childhood crush, formed after a brief encounter with Harry, drove her to wait for him, refusing all other suitors, *for a decade*—despite receiving not so much as a word or a glimpse of him in all that time—and then seek him out all the way to his mother’s house on the border of Wales to either marry him or die in her maidenhood? And he, remembering her as a child, suddenly determines what kind of woman she would now have become, then searches for her across England, consumed with love for the pouty kid he met once a decade earlier? I just can’t. I’m afraid I don’t have enough romance in my soul to take that part of the story as seriously as the author clearly wants me to.)
At the same time, I still cared enough about the characters and was carried along by the colorful writing enough to read to the tragic-triumphant end. But I think, having now read the first in both series, I’d prefer to pursue more of the author’s Brother Cadfael mysteries than read the rest of the Heaven Tree trilogy. Edith Pargeter/Ellis Peters really can write.
What I didn’t love, however, was the too-good-to-be-true goodness of Harry, the hero of the story, whose only “flaw” seems to be his sense of compassionate justice that sets him at deadly odds with the cruel (medieval!) letter of the law. And I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief over the almost soap-operatic romance that carries through the latter chapters.
That, after a long series of lovers, Lady Benedetta would suddenly swear her undying—but unrequited—love for Harry, then follow him across the seas, and never swerve in her purpose “until death do they part,” so to speak, while simultaneously remaining unalterably “faithful” to her loveless cohabitation contract to Harry’s nemesis just bugged me no end. Who would actually do that? Especially a woman who had made a life habit of jumping into bed with one man after another? She’s does prove to be a lively and interesting character, but sorry, nope. Just not buying it.
And the miserable and eeee-villl (like the frrrooo-its of the dev-illl) Isambard didn’t work for me either. He’s just *too* much of a black hat—too heartless, too inhumane. By contrast, Harry’s unalloyed virtue, his Edenic marriage, and his perfect skill and delight in his work, alongside his wife’s virtually faultless kindness and affection made their relationship seem too one-dimensional and sentimental. (And can we talk about how they get together? Her childhood crush, formed after a brief encounter with Harry, drove her to wait for him, refusing all other suitors, *for a decade*—despite receiving not so much as a word or a glimpse of him in all that time—and then seek him out all the way to his mother’s house on the border of Wales to either marry him or die in her maidenhood? And he, remembering her as a child, suddenly determines what kind of woman she would now have become, then searches for her across England, consumed with love for the pouty kid he met once a decade earlier? I just can’t. I’m afraid I don’t have enough romance in my soul to take that part of the story as seriously as the author clearly wants me to.)
At the same time, I still cared enough about the characters and was carried along by the colorful writing enough to read to the tragic-triumphant end. But I think, having now read the first in both series, I’d prefer to pursue more of the author’s Brother Cadfael mysteries than read the rest of the Heaven Tree trilogy. Edith Pargeter/Ellis Peters really can write.
July 31, 2011
The Heaven Tree was vivid with excellent characterization, esp. the resourceful Benedetta. It was also an emontional bungee jump, so I need a pause to catch my breath before going on to The Green Branch and The Scarlet Seed. I hope the second and third novels match the first in breadth.
Update, June 31, 2011. The Green Branch and The Scarlet Seed delivered just as much intrigue and suspense in a harsh yet rich medievalsetting as did The Heaven Tree. What I truly appreciate about this trilogy is how the major characters achieve depth over the story's 35-year span, so that their choices toward the end are completely appropriate, yet still capable of leaving the reader surprised.
Update, June 31, 2011. The Green Branch and The Scarlet Seed delivered just as much intrigue and suspense in a harsh yet rich medievalsetting as did The Heaven Tree. What I truly appreciate about this trilogy is how the major characters achieve depth over the story's 35-year span, so that their choices toward the end are completely appropriate, yet still capable of leaving the reader surprised.
September 25, 2022
Edith Pargeter/Ellis Peters books:
*** Inspector Felse
**** Brother Cadfael
***** Heaven Tree Trilogy
*** Inspector Felse
**** Brother Cadfael
***** Heaven Tree Trilogy
January 8, 2019
Overall, this trilogy was an engaging story with great characterization and faithful to historical events. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Page 378
I loved the first book in this trilogy.
The historical setting is England in the 13th century, the background of Welsh unrest is familiar to me, having read Here be Dragons in 2017. There the POV was from the Welsh side and the story focused on Llewelyn, the rebel prince of Wales. It was good to see the situation from the other side of the conflict (from the English perspective), besides while Penman’s book focuses on the nobility, Pargeter prefers shining light on the life of lower classes, merchants, artisans and villains.
In this first book, the protagonist is Harry Talvace, the second son of a minor Norman noble, turned stone mason who longs to build a splendid church as his masterpiece and legacy. There are obvious parallels with The Pillars of the Earth although I liked The Heaven Tree more as it is better researched, more historically rich in details and accuracy.
I’m not a big fan of romance, but there have been exceptions in the past and this book is one of them. Harry is a very likeable character, possessing many virtues, such as bravery, loyalty, honor, etc. properly abiding to the chivalry social code. The first book concludes with a tragedy, which is very fitting of this genre, Benedetta emerging as the epitome of the medieval heroine, I loved her!
I’m looking forward to continuing the series with the second book.
Highly recommended to historical fiction lovers and readers who enjoy “chansons de geste” and courtly romance type novels.
4 stars for the fist book
Page: 639
I found this second book weaker than the previous one for a couple of reasons. First, the plot has less action and adventure than “The heaven tree” and a lot more political scheming amongst the lords of England and Wales. Unfortunately, the author assumes that the reader is already familiar with the historical characters mentioned; name dropping and not much explanations had me scrambling for google to make sense of who was who. Secondly, young Henry is a much weaker character than his father, far too naïve, obstinate and hot tempered for my liking, well deserving of a good smack once or twice. Then there’s a change for the worse in the lord of Parfois. While in the first book Ralf Isambard had some depth while fitting the role of the bad-guy, he had motives for his actions, in this second book it appears simply as a villain without reason.
It may well be that this second book serves only as a bridge, and given the Harry’s unresolved issues (No spoilers!) at the end of this novel, I do hope that the third book will be better and bring an enjoyable conclusion to this trilogy that started so well. 2.5 stars
There a clear change in the third and final book, Isambard is not the devil that was painted previously, and Harry has grown up and finally behaving in a responsible manner. A decent ending with some moving scenes and a dramatic siege conclude the trilogy. 3.5 stars
Page 378
I loved the first book in this trilogy.
The historical setting is England in the 13th century, the background of Welsh unrest is familiar to me, having read Here be Dragons in 2017. There the POV was from the Welsh side and the story focused on Llewelyn, the rebel prince of Wales. It was good to see the situation from the other side of the conflict (from the English perspective), besides while Penman’s book focuses on the nobility, Pargeter prefers shining light on the life of lower classes, merchants, artisans and villains.
In this first book, the protagonist is Harry Talvace, the second son of a minor Norman noble, turned stone mason who longs to build a splendid church as his masterpiece and legacy. There are obvious parallels with The Pillars of the Earth although I liked The Heaven Tree more as it is better researched, more historically rich in details and accuracy.
I’m not a big fan of romance, but there have been exceptions in the past and this book is one of them. Harry is a very likeable character, possessing many virtues, such as bravery, loyalty, honor, etc. properly abiding to the chivalry social code. The first book concludes with a tragedy, which is very fitting of this genre, Benedetta emerging as the epitome of the medieval heroine, I loved her!
I’m looking forward to continuing the series with the second book.
Highly recommended to historical fiction lovers and readers who enjoy “chansons de geste” and courtly romance type novels.
4 stars for the fist book
Page: 639
I found this second book weaker than the previous one for a couple of reasons. First, the plot has less action and adventure than “The heaven tree” and a lot more political scheming amongst the lords of England and Wales. Unfortunately, the author assumes that the reader is already familiar with the historical characters mentioned; name dropping and not much explanations had me scrambling for google to make sense of who was who. Secondly, young Henry is a much weaker character than his father, far too naïve, obstinate and hot tempered for my liking, well deserving of a good smack once or twice. Then there’s a change for the worse in the lord of Parfois. While in the first book Ralf Isambard had some depth while fitting the role of the bad-guy, he had motives for his actions, in this second book it appears simply as a villain without reason.
It may well be that this second book serves only as a bridge, and given the Harry’s unresolved issues (No spoilers!) at the end of this novel, I do hope that the third book will be better and bring an enjoyable conclusion to this trilogy that started so well. 2.5 stars
There a clear change in the third and final book, Isambard is not the devil that was painted previously, and Harry has grown up and finally behaving in a responsible manner. A decent ending with some moving scenes and a dramatic siege conclude the trilogy. 3.5 stars
July 13, 2008
The three books which made up the trilogy are bound in one volume. This is a story of the Middle Ages, when great cathedrals were being built all over Europe. The story begins with a stone mason who is very talented and his best friend. Thefirst book is set mostly in France, where they meet a nobleman who hires them to build a cathedral for his estate in England. This is the England of King John who ruled when Richard the Lionhearted was off on the crusades. It is a cruel, merciless period in history. The story follows the building of the cathedral, the stonemason and his family and how his work affects the lives of the nobleman and his family. The author, Edith Pargenter who wrote the Brother Cadfael mysteries under the name of Ellis Peters is thoroughly acquainted with the Middle Ages in England. Heer history is accurate, her characters unforgetable and her books are very hard to put down.
June 17, 2010
This trilogy takes the entire first book to get into the story. It's beautiful and sometimes shocking. In a nutshell it's the story of a young man's "duty" to avenge his father's blood. But he finds himself surprisingly held back from doing so.
The book's strongest point besides just being fascinating, is how it shows how human hatred and vengeance can be - they falter, they can be indecisive, they can flare up violently over the most foolish things.
Worthwhile, which is good, cuz it takes a while.
The book's strongest point besides just being fascinating, is how it shows how human hatred and vengeance can be - they falter, they can be indecisive, they can flare up violently over the most foolish things.
Worthwhile, which is good, cuz it takes a while.
July 10, 2011
One of my friends just noticed that I "always recommend long books," and this would fit that bill at ~800 pages. But it's worth it if you like art and are interested in medieval-era history. This is the story of two stone carvers, one free and one a slave, who grow up as best friends and then have to contend with reality when they realize one can go wherever he likes and the other can lose his hand for a mistake. So they (Harry and Adam) run away and help build Notre Dame ... and have other adventures.
October 25, 2009
This is a trilogy set in medieval England, the chaotic rule of King John.
These are a series of exceptional novels and the characters stay with you as any well remembered individual you met in real life. It is that evocative, that beautifully written and that haunting.
These are a series of exceptional novels and the characters stay with you as any well remembered individual you met in real life. It is that evocative, that beautifully written and that haunting.
July 31, 2011
I don't re-read books too often, but this is one I need to revisit, perhaps in its audiobook version. One of the best historical fiction books (by one of the best historical fiction authors, also known as Ellis Peters -- the Cadfael mysteries were written by her) I can think of.
September 4, 2012
This was my second time reading this trilogy, which has a permanent place on our bookshelves. Edith Pargeter, best known for her Brother Cadfael mysteries written under the nom de plume Ellison Peters, was nothing if not a romantic. The trilogy (The Heaven Tree; The Green Branch; The Scarlet Seed) is set in the English march country and Wales in the first 30 or so years of the 13th century and it follows the lives of an English nobleman who becomes a stone mason/builder, his foster-brother, a Venetian courtesan, a lord of the marches, and others. (The is a period of time also beautifully covered in her books that make up "The Brothers of Gwynedd Quartet.)
Ms. Pargeter created memorable characters and was expert at breathing life into them. Recurrent themes of honor, morality, and love in all its many guises raise these books well above the average historical novel.
Ms. Pargeter created memorable characters and was expert at breathing life into them. Recurrent themes of honor, morality, and love in all its many guises raise these books well above the average historical novel.
October 28, 2013
One of my favorites. Sometimes difficult to read, sometimes a pure pleasure. History sort of bent around a story, but well worth it. The general events are accurate for the time and the real life characters inserted, so the creative license to fit them to a well written story is perfectly legitimate. Its moving because it is a story of learning to understand the differences in all of us and the self-imposed goals we place on ourselves. They don't always turn out the way we want them to, and sometimes things we do not believe are going the way we want, prove to be the most valuable experiences of all. Maybe not for every reader, but those who enjoy a challenging and deeply rewarding book, this is great.
May 29, 2013
The Heaven Tree Trilogy by Edith Pargeter is an excellent set of books. I was completely unable to put it down. Even when flying, I had no interest in watching a movie as the book was much more riveting. The book is historical fiction based in 13th century England and Wales. It is full of adventure but not an adventure story, has romance without being a romance and mystery without being a mystery. The characters are real, deeply flawed yet likeable. The plot line has elements that are too predictable and unfortunately a bit tacky, while other elements are complex and unpredictable. This would be my only complaint for the books, otherwise I would have given them the highest rating possible.
August 11, 2013
This is a gorgeous story set in England and Wales in the 13th century. The first book in the trilogy was originally meant to be the whole story, and it could stand by itself...but I'm glad it doesn't. The story follows Harry Talvace, a young man of a good Norman family in England, who renounces his heritage to become a mason and becomes entangled in a love triangle when he agrees to build a church for the English nobleman Ralf Isambard. The history and politics of England and its relations with Wales at the time play a role in the story, and there is a truly great villain.
December 12, 2008
This book takes place in the 1200's in England, and Wales. It follows a young Mason through his life, and then his son. It is a historical fiction that has a lot of political view points of England vs. Wales, and some French in there as well. There is also a lot of war and battles in the book. I enjoyed the raw emotions of the characters they most out of the book. There is tragedy, and well as joy.
August 24, 2011
One of those books that makes you think about calling in sick you can stay home and read. I didn't think the second and third books quite held up to the promise of the first (and they contained much more tedious political maneuvering), but still kept me riveted right to the end. I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction, and he first few pages are a bit tough while you adjust to the language and figure out the relationships, but I highly recommend sticking with it.
December 3, 2014
I thoroughly enjoyed this beautifully written story set in 13th century on the border between England and Wales. It is filled with memorable characters include Master Stone Mason Harry Talvace, Lord Ralph Isambard, Madonna Benedetta, England's King John, and Llewelyn the Great of Wales. The story continues through The Heaven Tree, The Green Branch and The Scarlet Seed and will be an excellent choice for readers of historical fiction.
August 13, 2011
Although I couldn't always follow much of the battle and court issues (the "olde" English was a little hard to follow), I though all 3 books were great. I don't think they should be read separately, or out of order, though.
These were about Harry, Adam, their friends and family--stone cutters around 1200 AD, with King John and his son, King Henry.
These were about Harry, Adam, their friends and family--stone cutters around 1200 AD, with King John and his son, King Henry.
January 17, 2010
One of my all time favorites. More than ten years later, the characters are still alive in my imagination. Love, intrigue, medieval culture, and artisan's compulsion to follow his vision combined for a long and fascinating read.
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