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As the travellers gather in the Tabard Inn at the start of a pilgrimage to pray before the blessed bones of St Thomas à Becket in Canterbury, they agree eagerly to mine host Harry's suggestion of amusing themselves on each day of their journey with one tale and each evening with another - but the latter to be of mystery, terror and murder. The Knight begins that evening: his tale opens with the destruction of a sinister cult at its stronghold in the wilds of Oxfordshire by Sir Hugo Mortimer show more during the reign of William the Conqueror, and then moves to Oxford some two hundred years later where strange crimes and terrible murders are being committed. The authorities seem powerless but Lady Constance, Abbess of the Convent of St Anne's, believes the murders are connected with the legends of the cult and she petitions the King for help. As the murders continue unabated, special commissioner Sir Godfrey Evesden and royal clerk Alexander McBain uncover clues that lead to a macabre world sect, which worships the dark lord. But they can find no solution to a series of increasingly baffling questions and matters are not helped by the growing rift between Sir Godfrey and McBain for the hand and favour of the fair Lady Emily. show lessTags
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#72, 2004
A "vampire" story, as told by the knight from the Canterbury Tales. A clever premise, but I found the book itself somewhat dull. I did enjoy the historical aspect of it, and thought it had a good medieval feeling to it, but I found myself skimming through because I wanted to know how it ended, but wasn't all that interested in how it got there. I did learn some things - the author uses a lot of archaic terms that I wasn't sure about, so I kept Googling things to find out the meanings. The ending, though, was pretty cool, and after I'd finished, I felt as thought I did enjoy the book, even though the actual reading of it wasn't all that thrilling. I'm not sure this makes any sense. I can't say I'd recommend it, but I am show more satisfied to have read it. show less
A "vampire" story, as told by the knight from the Canterbury Tales. A clever premise, but I found the book itself somewhat dull. I did enjoy the historical aspect of it, and thought it had a good medieval feeling to it, but I found myself skimming through because I wanted to know how it ended, but wasn't all that interested in how it got there. I did learn some things - the author uses a lot of archaic terms that I wasn't sure about, so I kept Googling things to find out the meanings. The ending, though, was pretty cool, and after I'd finished, I felt as thought I did enjoy the book, even though the actual reading of it wasn't all that thrilling. I'm not sure this makes any sense. I can't say I'd recommend it, but I am show more satisfied to have read it. show less
Durante un peregrinaje, varios personajes deciden compartir historias de terror durante las noches que van a pasar juntos. La llegada del vampiro es la aventura que relata el Caballero, acerca de una serie de enigmáticos asesinatos que tuvieron lugar en Oxford unos años atrás. Los habitantes de Oxford están desconcertadas por una ola extraños asesinatos que está dejando un reguero de cadáveres desangrados y sin signos de violencia. Nadie había visto nunca una coas así en las Islas Británicas, y al terror se une la más absoluta estupefacción hasta que una anciana llegada de los Balcanes empieza a recordar viejas leyendas centroeuropeas.
Jan 13, 2023Spanish
Durante un peregrinaje, varios personajes deciden compartir historias de terror durante las noches que van a pasar juntos. La llegada del vampiro es la aventura que relata el Caballero, acerca de una serie de enigmáticos asesinatos que tuvieron lugar en Oxford unos años atrás. Los habitantes de Oxford están desconcertados por una ola de extraños asesinatos que está dejando un reguero de cadáveres desangrados y sin signos de violencia. Nadie había visto nunca una cosa igual en las Islas Británicas, y al terror se une la más absoluta estupefacción hasta que una anciana llegada de los Balcanes empieza a recordar viejas leyendas centroeuropeas.
Feb 18, 2011Spanish
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Kindle Historical Fiction
155 works; 1 member
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138+ Works 13,253 Members
Paul C. Doherty was born on September 21, 1946. He is an award winning British author, educator, and historian. He is also the Headmaster of Trinity Catholic High School, Woodford Green, Essex, in the United Kingdom. He went to Liverpool University where he gained a First Class Honours Degree in History and at Exeter College, Oxford, where he show more received a doctorate for his thesis on Edward II. Dr. Doherty is a historian who lectures for a number of organisations, particularly on historical mysteries. Dr. Doherty was awarded an Order of the British Empire for his services to education in 2011. His other career is that of Headmaster at Trinity Catholic High School, Woodford Green, Essex for 30 years. In 1999, the school was given Beacon status which rates it as outstanding among other schools in it's category. Dr. Doherty has published a series of historical mysteries set in the Middle Ages, Classical, Greek, and Ancient Egypt. He writes both fiction and non-fiction under his own name, both as P.C. Doherty and Paul C. Doherty, as well as the pennames: Anna Apostolou, Michael Clynes, and Ann Dukthas. Doherty is the author of several mystery series, including The Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan, the Hugh Corbett medieval mysteries, and the Canterbury Tales of mystery. He has written 100 published books which have been printed in several languages and distributed in several different countries including the UK, United States, Spain, and Germany. He was also awarded the Herodotus, for lifelong achievement for excellence in the writing of historical mysteries by the Historical Mystery Appreciation Society. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- An Ancient Evil
- Original publication date
- 1994
- People/Characters
- Dame Edith Mohun; Sir Godfrey Evesden; Alexander McBain
- Important places
- University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
- Dedication
- To my baby son Mark and his vivid imagination.
- First words
- The warm April showers had done little to clean the dirty cobbles and mud-packed runnels of Southwark.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The eyes, half-hidden in a hooded cowl, glittered maliciously through the darkness and the lips curled in a grin like that of a hunting dog.
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- 154
- Popularity
- 212,025
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.53)
- Languages
- Bulgarian, English, German, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 10
- ASINs
- 4
