Some books about monks (fiction) that I recommend (I read some of these a while ago, so I have no idea if they hold up now that I'm older).
1. The Prioress Eleanor Series by Priscilla Royal (17 books about a medieval nun and monk solving mysteries)
2. Black Magic: The Rise and Fall of the Antichrist by Marjorie Bowen (my favorite standalone book!)
3. The Unfortunate Fursey by Mervyn Wall
4. An Excellent Mystery by Ellis Peters
5. Broken Angels: A Tale of Glastonbury Abbey by Beth Webb (extra points for the autistic character)
6. Conrad Monk and the Great Heathen Army by Edoardo Albert
Others:
Life of Galen Series (though the author has gotten really into AI lately. Boo. I used to enjoy the series but I can't enjoy it now after all the AI covers.)
Prioress Elanor is SEVENTEEN books!?? I need to get on that. I know I've publicly complained at there are too many monastic murder mysteries but... what can you do?
Quote from: themediaevalmonk on Mar 17, 2026, 04:27 PMLife of Galen Series (though the author has gotten really into AI lately. Boo. I used to enjoy the series but I can't enjoy it now after all the AI covers.
Boo! That sucks >:( Really makes it hard to trust an artist to make authentic content as soon as they start relying on AI. Especially in historical fiction!! What if they use AI to write and parrot some TV pop history....scam.
Here is my top monk fiction list:
- Name of the Rose by Umberto Echo
- Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet
- Easter Eve by Anton Chekov
- Narcissus and Goldmund by Herman Hesse
- Ordinary Devotion by Kristen Holt-Browning
BTW Easter Eve is a short story available online (https://www.online-literature.com/anton_chekhov/1159/) so there is no excuse not to read it RIGHT NOW. Unless you are in an emotionally weakened state and can't cope with a grieving monk...
A bonus for the Prioress Eleanor books is that the monk, Brother Thomas is gay. :) The author said in an interview that she didn't want them to fall in love, so she made Thomas gay so that problem would be solved lol. (In the books Eleanor has a massive crush on him because he is hot and extremely competent.)
New monk book recommendation: Love Habit by T.L. Clark.
It's about Tudor monks in love. A bit too much smut for my taste (it's VERY adult) but besides those parts, it's a nice cozy book. It starts in 1485, so the dissolution of the monasteries was only a vague thought in my mind lol.
It was also very well researched.