The Book of the Maidservant

Set in the fifteenth century, this intriguing tale takes listeners along as Johanna and her mistress, Dame Margery, leave England and join a group of pilgrims walking across Europe (including the Alps) on their way to Rome. Narrator Susan Duerden handles all the voices with panache--from Latin-speaking students to the group bully to snooty Dame Margery--while putting listeners squarely in the head and heart of Johanna, the maidservant. Pious Dame Margery turns out to be capricious and inconsiderate, for all her talk of conversing with the Virgin Mary, and Johanna is left to do the cooking, washing, and mending for the whole group. This is a vivid coming-of-age story, and Duerden is a real find as a narrator: warm, versatile, and real. M.M.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

January 11, 2010
Inspired by the life of the medieval religious mystic Margery Kempe, first-time novelist Barnhouse imagines the life of the maidservant who accompanied her on a pilgrimage from Lynn, England, to Rome. Thirteen-year-old Johanna has been hired out to Dame Margery, who hears the Lord's voice and feels the Virgin Mary's suffering so deeply that it brings her to daily bouts of weeping. A likeable and believable narrator, Johanna also suffersâwith aching longings for her family and their life togetherâbut does her best to serve her ill-tempered mistress and to endure the hardships of the pilgrimage. These prove especially harsh, as she finds herself obliged to serve the other pilgrims, as well: a varied lot of holy and not-so-holy characters, including a warmhearted university student on whom she develops a crush. Maintaining her fortitude and fighting her homesickness are Johanna's greatest ordeals, until she suddenly must flee alone to Rome and the drama quickens. Barnhouse adeptly weaves the gritty details of medieval life into an engaging, adventure-filled story. Ages 10â13.