Book Review for The Executioner's Daughter

Book Review by Allie Davis
MLIS 5653 Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hardstaff, Jane. 2016. The Executioner's Daughter. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books. ISBN 9781606845622

Connect with the Author
http://janehardstaff.com/

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
      In her debut novel, Jane Hardstaff brings to life the everyday life of Tudor England during the reign of King Henry VIII.  The main character, Moss, is the daughter of the Tower of London's executioner who is also a blacksmith.  Moss's character is portrayed as a typical pre-teen adolescent who is acting out against her father's authority and what she feels is a life of imprisonment.  She is typical of the very small middle class of the era, and when she runs away from the hated life that Pa has created for them, she experiences the harsh reality of the rest of poverty-stricken London. Her boots are stolen, she experiences hunger, and she faces the frigid cold of the English winter.  The plotline of the novel revolves around the special circumstances of Moss's birth in which she is saved by the Riverwitch, a folklorish legend she has heard since birth, but never knowing details about her mother or the circumstances of her mother's death. Her father refuses to talk about what happened, and Moss resents him because she feels like he does not really love her. 
     As the winter of her 12th year approaches, an old Tower resident tells Moss the story of a young maid who is rejected by a knight on the day of her marriage.  However, the girl was with child, but eventually her son is taken away from her by the knight.  Crushed, she dies tragically when she jumps from the wheel of a river mill, becoming the Riverwitch of folklore.  Moss is mesmerized and pulled into the story and becomes angry when her father forbids Nell to come back to visit Moss.  In the fight that ensues between them, Moss discovers that the Riverwitch saved her from an early birth, claiming to take her back to the river when she turns 12.  Moss also discovers that she and her father are not really prisoners of the Tower as he has claimed.  She is so upset that she runs away, escaping to the well-known River Thames and London Bridge.
     It is during her time alone that she discovers what the rest of London and England are experiencing and the cultural details of those times.  She meets Salter, who steals her boots but gives them back when she feeds some starving children the last of her food.  She takes on the working role of the Medieval woman of the time, caring for Salter's small shack and assisting him in his duties.  She is shocked by his profane mouth, which in my opinion, is the only part of the story which I feel is forced.  Hardstaff tries too hard to make him look bad with all of his rantings and curses.  The curses themselves did not even seem authentic for English curses.  However, Salter quickly becomes her friend and confidant, and together, they solve the mystery of disappearing children, the Riverwitch, and Moss's birth.  In the end, Moss is reconnected with her father, and the Riverwitch is pacified
     The cultural values of Tudor England are present in numerous form.  Besides the female gender role that Moss steps into, we see foods that were common of the period such as tarts, chestnuts, and fish.  The small shacks along London Bridge are brought vividly to life, as is the life of the fishermen and women along the Thames.  The most prevalent occupations of the times are mentioned: soldiers, blacksmiths, positions of the court, thieves and robbers, etc.  In some instances, Hardstaff attempts to communicate the well-known English accent,  but as a reader, I wish she had either had all of her characters speak in this accent or left it out altogether.  The mixture of regular accent and (what I will call) the "uneducated" English accent does not really work well for me.  Throughout the novel, there is mention of real people of the times: Henry VIII, Queen Anne Boleyn, The Tower Keeper Townsend, and several monks and priests who were put to death in the Tower.  These people all add accuracy and authenticity to the culture of Tudor England.  
     Overall, this children's book is the best fiction book that I personally have read in years.  As an avid reader, I have read so much fiction over the years, that in nearly every book I read, I normally have the plot figured out midway through the book.  This is especially true of children and young adult fiction.  I thoroughly expected to have this book figured out as well.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was not the case.  I could not figure out how Moss was going to defeat the Riverwitch, and the resolution of the novel came as a wonderful surprise, staying true to Moss's gentle and loving spirit.  I was very sad for the story to end and ecstatic to find that it has a sequel, River Daughter.  

AWARDS  

• 2017 USSBY Outstanding International Book
• Winner of the Salisbury Schools’ Book Award
• The Primary Teacher Book Award
• Shortlisted for the Oxfordshire Book Award
• Shortlisted for the Salford Children's Book Award
• Nomintaed for the Branford Boase Award

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

• Publisher's Weekly, "...Searching for the place she was conceived and aware that she is living on borrowed time, Moss is a headstrong, emotional, and determined heroine. Hardstaff believably conveys the gritty details of life on the edge in the context of historical events of the era."©  Feb. 1, 2016.
• School Library Journal, “Moss hates her life as the basket girl and executioner's daughter, so she leaves the tower for subsistence living along the river with an orphan named Salter.  In this British import, Hardstaff weaves a coming-of-age story set in Tudor England with folflore about a Riversitch.  Moss's frustrations with her father's overprotectiveness and her desire to somehow connect with her late mother are genuine.  Moss matures are she searches for where her mother died and through her friendship with Salter.  She fully realizes Salter's "bread first, then morals" philosophy during her escapade to Hampton Court.  The Riverswitch folklore and the suspense that it creates, along with the themes of love and family, strengthen Moss's story.  Parts of the novel, particularly Moss meeting the queen, feel contrived and too heavy handed..."  (c) Feb. 1, 2016
• Booklist, "...Hardstaff imbues her debut novel with rich, sensory language to evoke a strong sense of everyday life in Reformation-era England. Among the real drama involving historical figures, such as Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, clever Moss' compelling story is a gratifying one, and kids who love spooky, grim tales will easily be lured in."© April 15, 2016

CONNECTIONS

Use as an introduction to Tudor England, Henry VIII, blacksmiths, executions, fathers and sons, curses, witches and folklore, adventure, and self-awareness.  

https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=48477
https://www.egmont.co.uk/teacher-librarian-resources/the-executioners-daughter-6-week-scheme-of-work/

• Write a diary perspective from Moss's point of view.
• Create a mind map of Tudor England and write a poem using it.
• Dissect Moss's character. Predict how the story will end based on her character.

Other Jane Hardstaff titles to read:
·       River Daughter. ( The sequel to The Executioner's Daughter) ISBN  1405268328

Gather more Tudor England titles to read such as:

·       Pip, Jim. The Tudors: A Very Peculiar History:  ISBN  1907184589

·       Williams, Marcia. The Tudors: Kings, Queens, Scribes, and Ferrets! ISBN 0763681229
·       Worsley, Lucy.  Maid of the King's Court.  ISBN: 0763688061