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Reading age
12+
Genre
Historical Fiction
Publisher
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date
August 25, 2020
A moving and poetic story about a girl with many obstacles to overcome.
Edyth has to leave everything she knows behind since her father was hanged as a criminal, her mother died of childbirth, and her brother, Henry, struggled to support them. She has to work as a conversa (a servant to the nuns) at St. Christopher’s Priory. There, Edyth tries to make ends meet and encounters a new friend, Alice Palmer. But there is a terrible plot within the Priory that will change her life forever.
I’ve always wanted to learn more about life in a convent, and this book was the perfect read to inform you. The setting in the late 1340s was stunning. The Scriptorium in the Priory seemed like a magical place for writing and illustrating (a place where people’s hobby of writing would thrive). At one point in the book, the black death spread (I’m always interested to learn more about the era), which was terrifying.
Edyth is very complicated, yet she manages her feelings so well that I admire her. From what I’ve read, she is a sound artist and a selfless person. Alice is charming and a good writer-nun. She is a friend that you can depend on when you need it most.
The theme of this book is to always strive for the best and prevail. I recommend this book to Medieval history buffs and an excellent nostalgic story.
My rating
About the author
“Vesper Stamper was born in Nuremberg, Germany, and raised in New York City. She married filmmaker Ben Stamper right out of college, and they have two wildly creative children. When Vesper earned her MFA in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts, Ben gave her an orange tree. She illustrates and writes under its leaves and blossoms at her grandfather’s old drafting table, in the pine woods of the Northeast.” – Book Depository.
More by the author
- Berliners, Please read my review here.
