First published 1997
The girl called Brat sleeps in dung heaps and scavenges for scraps in a medieval English village. She has no family and no name worth claiming. Everything changes when Jane the Midwife takes her on as an apprentice. Jane has a cutting tongue and little patience, but she knows her craft. As Brat learns to assist with births, she discovers skills she never knew she possessed. She renames herself Alyce and begins to imagine a different life. The work is hard and Jane demanding, but Alyce grows stronger and more confident with each delivery. She starts to believe she deserves something better than mere survival. Alyce wants what seems impossible for someone like her: enough food, contentment, and a real place in the world. Her journey from nameless outcast to skilled apprentice unfolds against the vivid backdrop of village life, where gossip travels fast and everyone knows their station. This is a story about finding courage to claim your worth.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, coming-of-age
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, rags-to-riches
Setting: England, Medieval
Period: Medieval
129 pages · Paperback · MacMillan