The Midwife's Apprentice

Book title _______ The Midwife's Apprentice________________

Author, Illustrator ________ Karen Cushman__________________________

Publisher, Year ____ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019 ______________

Bibliography

Cushman, K. (2019). The Midwife's Apprentice. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

ISBN 978-1328631121

Plot Summary

The story of The Midwife's Apprentice involves a young girl living in medieval England around the age of 12 or 13 who believes that she will not amount to anything. After gaining an apprenticeship with a midwife named Jane, the young girl - eventually self-named Alyce - defies all expectations held to her by society and herself.

Critical Analysis

The Midwife’s Apprentice is one of the many books Cushman has written that is an award-winning children historic fiction novel. Like her other award-winning book, Catherine Called Birdy, which is also set in the medieval era. Cushman even includes a bibliography of the books she used when writing her novels including Ian Mortimer’s Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century. This is to ensure the information is accurate for that time period. This can be seen throughout the novel. For example, chapter 7 titled The Devil describes the event when the village believed that the Devil was among them. There were strange footprints found all over the village that lead to people who were committing sins. This is seen when the villagers went along the Old North Road where the baker waited for Jane, the midwife. It was there that the baker’s wife learned of his adultery. The audience soon learned it was Alyce who used “blocks of wood carved in the shapes of hooves” to punish those who taunt or tormented her. During this time, many people believed in witchcraft and that the Devil would come to tempt them to commit sins. When in fact, just like the Salem Witch Trials, there were other explanations to rationalize these occurrences.

Cushman also took into consideration the language and holidays used during the time period. This is seen with phrases such as “Lady Day,” “Corpus Christi Day,” “lackwit,” and “clodpole.” These terms are not typically used in American literature today. Though it may take some time for the readers to adjust to the language, Cushman provides with clear detail the important events that impact Alyce. One of them is when Alyce helps delivers a child. Then, later, she could not help another woman deliver her child. Consequently, Alyce runs away since she starts to believe again that she is not good enough. What is the most impactful about the scenario is when Jane arrives at the inn Alyce was working at and talked to Magister Reese about Alyce. Jane was not disappointed that Alyce could not deliver the child, but that she ran away. This comes into a full circle when Alyce returns to Jane and is determined to be Jane’s apprentice again. This shows that if you would want something, you may not get it right the first time and that is okay. What matters is the determination to learn from your mistakes; which is clearly a takeaway for Alyce by the end of the story.

With an introduction by Lois Lowry, this sets the tone and setting for the book as she talks about the time period. Afterward, the story begins with Alyce, who is known as Brat or Beetle at that time, living in the streets. From then on, the reader follows Alyce and her journey of self-discovery. Cushman even includes an excerpt from Catherine Called Birdy for those readers who enjoyed the book and would like to know more about her other book. Though there are no illustrations within the book, the cover reflects Alyce and Purr as Cushman and describes them at the end of the book. In the beginning, Alyce was described as thin and dirty. Throughout the story, Alyce slowly grows to an attractive and capable young woman with a cat companion as shown in the cover of the book.

Review Excerpts and Awards

·         Newberry Medal

Kirkus Reviews “How Brat comes to terms with her failure and returns to Jane's home as a true apprentice is a gripping story about a time, place, and society that 20th-century readers can hardly fathom. Fortunately, Cushman (Catherine, Called Birdy, 1994) does the fathoming for them, rendering in Brat a character as fully fleshed and real as Katherine Paterson's best, in language that is simple, poetic, and funny.”

Publishers Weekly “has an almost unrivaled ability to build atmosphere, and her evocation of a medieval village, if not scholarly in its authenticity, is supremely colorful and pungent”

Connections

If you would like to know more of Karen Cushman other novels, please visit her website at https://www.karencushman.com/

Or if you would like to read more historical fiction based in the medieval era, please consider looking into the following novels:

·         The Knight at Dawn (Magic Tree House, No. 2) by Mary Pope Osborne ISBN 978-0679824121

·         The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli ISBN 978-0440227793

·         Marguerite Makes a Book by Bruce Robertson ISBN 978-0892363728