Module 5/Genre 5 - Historical Fiction/Biography

Bibliography
Cushman, Karen. 1995. The midwife's apprentice. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 9780395692295

Plot Summary
The Midwife’s Apprentice is a sometimes humorous, but an always easy-to-relate-to story set in medieval England. It’s a tale about a homeless girl who has enough street smarts to know that sleeping in dung will keep her warm on cold nights. As she travels from town to town seeking food and possible work, she becomes a housekeeper for the local hard and cold midwife and eventually becomes her apprentice. This girl who feels unloved and unwanted grows through this story becoming a brave soul who stands up for herself and makes something of herself – actually a kinder and gentler midwife.

Critical Analysis
The Midwife’s Apprentice is a great little story for all ages. The setting of this story is perfect. It gives enough of a picture of what that time was like without going into too much heavy detail. The protagonist’s, Alyce’s, character is so real, one feels like they could be in her shoes. Also, her compassion and hurt makes the reader hurt with her. The plot of this story is real as well. It reveals how hard life was then and how there was not much kindness outside of ones own family. For Alyce, this is a story of how she overcomes what seems like a very hopeless life. The theme of this story is that of overcoming adversity. This is a novel of a poor, homeless girl who doesn’t even know her own birthday or what it is like to cry.

The style of The Midwife’s Apprentice is very simple, but still engaging. Anyone can feel Alyce’s pain, fear, misery, and triumph. Historically, this story seems very accurate and Alyce even names her little friend after King Edward – king from 1272-1307. It is a realistic story that shows hard life could be for the lower classes of medieval England. Any age can enjoy and relate to this story.

Review Excerpt
BookList: "From the first page you're caught by the spirit of the homeless, nameless waif, somewhere around 12 years old, "unwashed, unnourished, unloved, and unlovely," trying to keep warm in a dung heap."
Kirkus Reviews: “From the rebirth in the dung heap to Brat's renaming herself Alyce after a heady visit to a medieval fair, this is not for fans of historical drama only. It's a rouser for all times.”
School Library Journal: “Earthy humor, the foibles of humans both high and low, and a fascinating mix of superstition and genuinely helpful herbal remedies attached to childbirth make this a truly delightful introduction to a world seldom seen in children's literature.”

Connections
Have a discussion with students about the different classes in medieval England and compare them to classes we have today.

Have students do a short readers’ theater excerpt from this play.

Divide the story into small segments and have each student illustrate that part of the story.