The Hangman in the Mirror

December 12, 2011
Playwright Cayley's debut novel is a tense slow burning story, skillfully constructed around a true historical event. Set in poverty and disease-ridden Montreal in 1751, the story centers on the life of Françoise Laurent who, after being arrested at age 16 for theft, comes to learn that her only hope for survival lies in her own words: "Words, it seemed, were power, even for those with nothing in the world." When Françoise's parents die of measles, she seizes the opportunity for a life as a maid to the wife of an affluent fur trader, where she is not reduced to stealing and begging to survive. But a moment of weakness leads to her pocketing her mistress's gloves, and resentment among her fellow servants results in her hasty imprisonment. Françoise's fierce, observant, and insightful qualities are well-depicted through her lyrical and deliberate narrationânotably in her relationship with moody Madame Pommereau, and in the love that unexpectedly develops between Françoise and another prisoner. Perhaps most memorable of all is Cayley's remarkably rich and haunting setting. Ages 12âup.

March 1, 2012

Gr 9 Up-Francoise Laurent struggles for survival in 18th-century New France (Montreal). When her alcoholic parents die in a measles epidemic, she obtains work as a maid in an affluent household for an unhappy, but kind mistress. Grappling with her own unhappiness and consumed by thoughts of class structure and the barriers between her own poverty and a life of privilege, the 15-year-old steals a pair of gloves and as a result is condemned to be hanged. Her imprisonment is prolonged for lack of a hangman. Francoise then somehow manages to convince her neighboring cellmate, a boy nearly her own age, to assume the unpopular and unsavory job of hangman and then by marrying her, absolve her of the crime and save her life. Despite the interesting premise, which is based on actual events, and the hint of romance, the pace of the story is slow, the writing awkward, and Francoise's internal dialogue doesn't ring true to character. A grim setting, mild language, and references to prostitution make this a book for only the most dedicated historical fiction readers.-Madeline J. Bryant, Los Angeles Public Library

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