The Executioner's Daughter [Hardcover]

Laura E. Williams (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up

A medieval executioner's daughter discovers that she can make choices about her own future, though the rewards may be equaled by the risks.

"All Lily could remember when she got to the hill was looking up at the distant gallows and the roar of the crowd around her. On the platform, a tall man looped nooses around the thieves' necks and pulled the ropes till the condemned hung like sacks of grain."

Born into the family of an executioner, Lily has always been sheltered by her mother from the horrors of her father's occupation. While her mother assists her father in all his daily duties, Lily spends her time caring for her animals, collecting herbs, and playing alone in the forest. But when her ailing mother takes a turn for the worse, Lily is suddenly thrust into the paralyzing role of executioner's assistant.

Aside from preparing healing concoctions for the suffering and maimed, Lily must now accompany her father at the town executions, something she has never done before. Though she loves her father, the emotional burden of his disturbing profession is just too much for her to bear. Lily must find a way to change her destiny, no matter the consequences.

Set in medieval England, this well-researched and beautifully written novel tells the story of one girl's fight to rise above her fate.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8-A historical novel set in England in 1450. Gentle, sensitive Lily has the misfortune to be the daughter of the village executioner. The other children taunt and torment her and her only friends are the wounded forest animals that she nurses back to health. When her mother dies, Lily knows that it is her destiny to replace her as the executioner's assistant. Suddenly the ugliness from which she has been shielded all her life becomes all too real. She faces the difficult choice of remaining loyal to her loving but remote father or leaving to try to make a better life for herself. Ironies abound in the deceptively simple story. Lily's parents also earn a living by selling herbs and are expert healers. Her father is reviled by the citizens of the town, but they turn out in droves to watch him work. He is viewed by all as a brute, yet he must drink heavily in order to carry out his duties. Lily is a strong, insightful child, wise beyond her years yet still vulnerable. This well-written story is an excellent vehicle for demonstrating the harsh realities of life in the Middle Ages. It can be used effectively with Karen Cushman's Catherine Called Birdy (1994) and The Midwife's Apprentice (1995, both Clarion) and serves as a curriculum link as well as a pleasurable read. A brief afterword provides needed historical background.
Bruce Anne Shook, Mendenhall Middle School, Greensboro, NC
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Set during the thirteenth century, this is the story of Lily, whose father is Lord Dunsmore's executioner. Lily's parents, especially her mother who helps with the executioner's duties, try to shield Lily from the horrid particulars. But when her mother dies, Lily realizes that she is the one who will now be assisting as her father sets off the gallows or chops off a head. In some ways, this reflective piece is more about mood and place than action. Lily lives quietly, tending her animals and learning herbal medicine. A young boy becomes something of a friend, but mostly Lily is reviled by the villagers. Williams captures both the beauty of the forest where Lily lives and the isolation of her life. The scene where Lily attends her father at an execution is vivid and horrifying. Lily's resolve to leave her father and escape her fate seems somewhat rushed, and readers will be longing to know more about the kind of life she forges for herself. An epilogue gives a hint, but a sequel would be welcome. See the Read-alikes column on the opposite page for more fiction set in the Middle Ages. Ilene Cooper

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805062343
• ISBN-13: 978-0805062342
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,048,859 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A haunting novel set during the Middle Ages., August 3, 2000

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Executioner's Daughter (Hardcover)

This novel was built upon the fact that during the Middle Ages, executioners and their families were shunned, forced to live outside the village walls and forbidden to attend church and social gatherings. Thirteen-year-old Lily, the fictional main character, is cursed from the moment she was born - her father is the village executioner. But because her mother is the one to assist her father in his duties, Lily keeps to herself in the forrest near their cottage, gathering herbs and healing wounded animals, and taking comfort in her mother when her father distances himself from them. Lily loses that one comfort when her mother sickens and dies. Now Lily is doomed to be her father's assistant at executions. A gentle, quiet girl, Lily cannot bear to see an animal in pain - she doesn't know how she can ever watch executions. But Lily won't resign herself to the fate assigned to her. This was an excellant historical novel that brought the time and place of England in the 1400s, gruesome details and all, to life. It was inspiring to read a story about a young girl who chose to fight her place in life in a time when most people were forced to accept whatever their circumstances in life turned out to be, whether they liked them or not. I highly reccomend this novel to fans of historical novels ages twelve and up (the more gruesome details might disturb younger readers).

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Death Vs. Healing, June 13, 2007

By 

A. Luciano (Lowell, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Executioner's Daughter (Paperback)

Lily is an adolescent living in the Middle Ages, when justice was often very cruel. Her father is the town's executioner, which means he is the one to dole out all of the punishment. Sometimes he has to hang people, sometimes he cuts off their hands or their heads. It is not a pleasant job, and it means that the entire town despises him and is afraid of him. His wife and daughter live with him outside the town walls. On the side, they collect and mix herbs for healing, and often when people from town can't find anyone else to heal them, they come to the executioner's wife for the help they need.

Lily loves the idea of healing. She does her best to learn all about the herbs her mother and father mix for their medicines, and when she finds hurt animals she brings them home to heal them herself. She is shielded from the work of her father because her mother acts as his assistant and keeps Lily away from his job.

Then one day Lily's mother gets very sick with a fever Lily and her father can't fix. When Lily's mother dies, Lily's life changes. Suddenly she is expected to be her father's assistant, but how can she help him to kill when she wants to dedicate her life to healing?

I liked learning the history of a Medieval family, especially one as unusual as an executioner's family. I liked that Lily was portrayed as a very strong character, although as a female living when she was living, I don't know if it was realistic to think that she would really have had the opportunities to heal she thought she would. I felt the ending was unresolved and left me hanging a bit.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Executioner's Daughter, September 18, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Executioner's Daughter (Hardcover)

The Executioner's Daughter


The title of the book I was reading is The Executioner's daughter. The author of the book I was reading is The Executioner's Daughter. The author of the book I am reading is Laura e. Williams. I really enjoy this book when I was reading it. In the book one of all the characters that I like, there is one I really like most. The character is Lily; I like her because she relates a lot to me. That is one3 of the reasons I choose this book to read. I really like this book because some parts are like if they were written for me to listen to. Lily's life is rough with her parents, and the thing that makes her cheerful is her animals and that relates to me a lot like my life. There is actually nothing I dislike about this book, everything was so incredible to read, well there is this part I kind of do not like, I wish Lily's life could be a little bit easier, I mean, because she is still a kid to have those big problems with her parents. My strongest reason to recommend this book to somebody is that they would like it like I like it. Not only that if you like a book that there is a character that does not give up to cheer somebody up, until they meet their goal. This book is right for you. I hope you will enjoy this book like I enjoy it. Have fun reading this book. Trust me I am telling you the truth, you would enjoy it.