Brothers Keepers (1975) – M. Evans

Travel. The world is insane, it really is. I’d forgotten, during my ten years inside our monastery walls, just how lunatic they all are out there, and my weekly stroll to the Lexington Avenue newsstand had not been exposure enough to remind me. I had come to think of the world as colorful, exciting, variegated and even dangerous, but I had forgotten about the craziness.

How are the brothers of the Crispinite Order (founded 1777 and now situated on New York’s posh Park Avenue) going to thwart the greedy real estate developers who threaten to demolish their monastic haven?

This is the dilemma facing Brother Benedict and his 15 fellow monks. Collectively determined to retain their habitat, the brothers take action. Especially Brother Benedict, who falls in love with the landlord’s daughter, and finds himself embroiled in a battle to save his celibate tranquility, as well as his beloved monastery.

– From the back cover of the Coronet paperback edition (UK, 1980)