Matilda Bone

by Cushman, Karen

• ISBN13: 9780395881569
• ISBN10: 0395881560
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-10-16
• Publisher: Clarion Books

Summary

In her long-awaited new novel, Newbery medalist Karen Cushman assembles a cast of unforgettable characters in a fascinating and pungent setting: the medical quarter of a medieval English village. To Blood and Bone Alley, home of leech, barber-surgeon, and apothecary, comes Matilda, raised by a priest to be pious and learned, and now destined to assist Red Peg the Bonesetter. To Matilda"s dismay, her work will not involve Latin or writing, but lighting the fire, going to market, mixing plasters and poultices, and helping Peg treat patients. Matilda is appalled by the worldliness of her new surroundings and yearns for the days at the manor when all she did was study and pray. Lonely and misunderstood, she seems destined for a fate as tragic as that of any of the sharp-tongued saints she turns to for advice. Filled with the witty dialogue and richly authentic detail that Karen Cushman"s work is known for, Matilda Bone is a compelling comic novel about a girl who learns to see herself and others clearly, to laugh, and to live contentedly in this world. Author"s note.

Author Biography

Karen Cushman was born in Chicago, Illinois and lives now on Vashon Island west of Seattle, Washington. She received an M.A. in human behavior and one in museum studies. Ms. Cushman has had a lifelong interest in history. She says, "I grew tired of hearing about kings, princes, generals, presidents. I wanted to know what ordinary life was like for ordinary young people in other times." Research into medieval English history and culture led to the writing of her first two novels, the Newbery Honor book CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY and the Newbery Medal-winner THE MIDWIFE'S APPRENTICE. She is also the author of MATILDA BONE, THE BALLAD OF LUCY WHIPPLE and, most recently, RODZINA.

Table of Contents

Arriving	1	(8)
Looking for Deliverance	9	(11)
Going to Market	20	(9)
Encountering Doctor Margery	29	(5)
Tending a Cat	34	(9)
Leeching	43	(10)
Fiding Another Matilda	53	(8)
Watching Com	61	(11)
Meeting Walter and Nathaniel	72	(11)
Doing her Best	83	(9)
Easing Sarah	92	(10)
Consulting Master Theobald	102	(10)
Talking to Effie	112	(12)
Sending a Letter	124	(8)
Naming Birds	132	(7)
Tending Tilby	139	(14)
Receiving a Letter	153	(8)
Author's Note	161