Promotional Information

An incredible true story of courage and deliverance that will haunt its readers.

About the Author

Mary has been writing professionally for over twenty years and has published nearly eighty books for children and young people. She has written funny books, 'issue' books and spooky books, and has now settled into doing what she loves best- writing historical novels centering around real situations (The Great Plague in 1665, for example) and real people (Anne Green, who was hanged for infanticide in Oxford, 1650).

Reviews

“Intriguing and captivating.”—Celia Rees
“A chilling, mesmerizing read.”—"Kirkus Reviews"
“A grabber of a premise.”—"School Library Journal"
“A historical mystery that is creepy in the best Edgar Allen Poe tradition, as well as thought-provoking.”—"Booklist"
“First-rate . . . Anne’s story, handled with skill and passion, will be hard for anyone to put down.”—"The Times" (UK)
“A well researched, riveting read.”—"The Horn Book"

Gr 8 Up-A grabber of a premise: It's England, 1650, and as the dissection of an ill-fated 22-year-old servant woman newly unstrung from the gallows begins, the participants detect the cadaver's eyes flickering. Hooper alternates perspective from Anne (the not-actually-dead corpse), who flashes back to explain how she ended up there, to that of a young intellectual attendee of the dissection, a sympathetic stutterer named Robert. Anne's story, rife with gruesome scenes of Puritan-era life (e.g., a rat-infested prison, a bloody miscarriage in a dirty privy) trumps Robert's drier account of the discourse among various distinguished intellectuals of the day, unless readers are well versed in the period's historical details (e.g., when Christopher Wren is teased for his poor poetry). The resulting back-and-forth of the two narrators makes for a poorly paced read, but the pervasive sense of injustice and indignity is vibrant enough to buoy readers through to the unexpectedly positive ending. Loosely based on a true story-hence the title, taken from broadsides published at the time-with a decidedly unromantic view of the era, this is a must-read for teens learning about Cromwell and the Puritan revolution, or for young feminists who appreciate narratives about the treatment of women in history.-Rhona Campbell, Washington, DC Public Library Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

It is 1650, and Anne is a maid servant in the pious household of Sir Thomas Reade. There she falls victim to his ne're-do-well grandson and becomes pregnant. As in Dowd's A Swift Pure Cry, the baby arrives early and stillborn. However, when the body is inevitably discovered, Anne is sentenced to hang for matricide, this being Cromwell's England. Here's the twist: the story unfolds in alternating viewpoints as Anne's body lies immobile on a dissection table. Young Robert Matthews, a medical student, thinks he might have seen her eyes flutter. Why It Is for Us: Childbirth can be a horrifying business, and this story, based on true events, is a chilling look at the plight of the powerless and impoverished in a classed society. Anne is a victim of her employer, of justice, and of the hangman's noose; it is only in death that she finds rescue. The book concludes with a reproduction of a 1651 medical document chronicling Anne's case. Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

"Intriguing and captivating."-Celia Rees
"A chilling, mesmerizing read."-"Kirkus Reviews"
"A grabber of a premise."-"School Library Journal"
"A historical mystery that is creepy in the best Edgar Allen Poe tradition, as well as thought-provoking."-"Booklist"
"First-rate . . . Anne's story, handled with skill and passion, will be hard for anyone to put down."-"The Times" (UK)
"A well researched, riveting read."-"The Horn Book"