Matilda Bone, Paperback

Into the fascinating, pungent setting of Blood and Bone Alley, home of leech, barber-surgeon, and apothecary, comes Matilda, raised by a priest to disdain worldly affairs and spend all her time in study and prayer. To Matilda's dismay, her new occupation will not involve Latin or writing, but practical tasks: lighting the fire, going to market, mixing plasters and poultices, and helping Red Peg the Bonesetter treat patients. She is appalled by the worldliness of her new surroundings, and the sharp-tongued saints she turns to for advice are no help at all.

Filled with witty dialogue and richly authentic detail, Matilda Bone is a compelling comic novel about a girl who learns to see herself and others clearly, to laugh, and to live contentedly in this world.

Karen Cushman has a lifelong interest in history. She says, "I wanted to know what ordinary life was like for ordinary young people in other times." Research in medieval history and culture led to the writing of her first two novels, the Newbery Honor book Catherine, Called Birdy and the Newbery medal winner The Midwife's Apprentice. Her other books include The Ballad of Lucy Whipple, Alchemy and Meggy Swann, Grayling's Song, Rodzina, and The Loud Silence of Francine Green. She lives on Vashon Island west of Seattle, WA.