A Murder for her Majesty by Beth Hilgartner (Houghton Mifflin Company, New York: New York, 1986)
Historical Fiction/Mystery
Historical Fiction/Mystery
Review by Gamila from Gamila's Review
This historical fiction set in Elizabethan England begins with the main character headed toward the city of York to find help from Lady Jenny. Alice Tuckfield has just witnessed two men kill her father in the woods, and is trying to find someplace safe. Near the point of exhaustion, she runs into a boy on the streets of York, who he offers her something to eat. He offers to let her stay the night in their boarding house without the mistress knowing. They hide her in an upstairs closet. The boarding house is full of boys that sing in the church choir.
The boys plan a scheme to see how long they can hide her in the boys choir without Master Frost, the director noticing that she is a girl. They turn Alice into a boy and continue to let her hide in the upstairs closet. Alice realizes that she is in danger when she hears voices talking in the cathedral late at night. They are talking about her, and how they can't find her. They are the murderers of her father and a priest, Father Cooper, is working with them. Alice doesn't know what to do, but she is safe pretending to be a choirboy, but that might change if Father Cooper keeps snooping.
This is a really charming book and a very engaging read. The setting in York is extremely fun. The description of the choirboy's life is fascinating and the historical setting is flawlessly seamed into the story. The author is excellent at characterization. I loved Masters Frost and Kenton just as much as I loved Alice. The boys were fun-loving and playful characters that made Alice's life so interesting and much more exciting. This really is a delightful clean read.
This historical fiction set in Elizabethan England begins with the main character headed toward the city of York to find help from Lady Jenny. Alice Tuckfield has just witnessed two men kill her father in the woods, and is trying to find someplace safe. Near the point of exhaustion, she runs into a boy on the streets of York, who he offers her something to eat. He offers to let her stay the night in their boarding house without the mistress knowing. They hide her in an upstairs closet. The boarding house is full of boys that sing in the church choir.
The boys plan a scheme to see how long they can hide her in the boys choir without Master Frost, the director noticing that she is a girl. They turn Alice into a boy and continue to let her hide in the upstairs closet. Alice realizes that she is in danger when she hears voices talking in the cathedral late at night. They are talking about her, and how they can't find her. They are the murderers of her father and a priest, Father Cooper, is working with them. Alice doesn't know what to do, but she is safe pretending to be a choirboy, but that might change if Father Cooper keeps snooping.
This is a really charming book and a very engaging read. The setting in York is extremely fun. The description of the choirboy's life is fascinating and the historical setting is flawlessly seamed into the story. The author is excellent at characterization. I loved Masters Frost and Kenton just as much as I loved Alice. The boys were fun-loving and playful characters that made Alice's life so interesting and much more exciting. This really is a delightful clean read.
I read this outloud to my sons and they loved it.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great historical fiction book. Always looking for good ones in that genre. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy historical fiction. This one sounds great. Thanks for such a great website!!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds fun!
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of historical fiction, so I'll have to check this one out. By the way, thanks for starting this blog. It's so nice to know I have a "clean" list to refer to.
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