Ellis Peters is a pseudonym of Edith Mary Pargeter (1913 1995), a British author whose Chronicles of Brother Cadfael are credited with popularizing the historical mystery. Cadfael, a WelshBenedictinemonk living atShrewsbury Abbey in the first half of the twelfth century, has been described as combining the curious mind of a scientist with the bravery of a knight-errant. The character has been adapted for television, and the books drew international attention to Shrewsbury and its history.Pargeter won an Edgar Awardin 1963 for"Death and the Joyful Woman", and in 1993 she won theCartier Diamond Dagger, an annual award given by theCrime Writers Association of Great Britain. She was appointedofficer of the Order of the British Empirein 1994, and in 1999 the BritishCrime Writers Associationestablished theEllis Peters Historical Daggeraward, later called the Ellis Peters Historical Award.