BOOK REVIEW: The Executioner’s Daughter by Jane Hardstaff ★★★★☆
Moss hates her life. As the daughter of the Executioner in the Tower of London, it’s her job to catch the heads in her basket after her father has chopped them off. She dreams of leaving, but they are prisoners with no way out. Then Moss discovers a hidden tunnel that takes her to freedom, where she learns that her life isn’t what she believes it to be and she doesn’t know who to trust. Her search for the truth takes her on a journey along the great River Thames. Could the answers lie deep in its murky depths?
It’s been a long time since I’ve read a young adult book and so by chance, I picked up The Executioner’s Daughter at my local library. And this time I didn’t judge a book by its cover. So the synopsis intrigued me as I like books with adventure and mystery and that’s what the protagonist Moss goes on.
Just like the author suggests, this is the tale of stubborn and courageous Moss, the executioner’s daughter. Set in the Tudor reign of the 16th century England, Moss describes how she absolutely hates her job, hates her prisoner life and yearns for freedom. After her Pa tells her of her birthplace and the truth behind their ‘imprisonment’ Moss runs away and is on a journey to get to Hampton. However, there is a local legend of the River Witch who lures children to the river and snatches them away and Moss can’t help but think she may just be one of them.
This fiction story also ties with real events of that time. So the readers get a snippet of King Henry the 8th and his Queen Anne Boleyn (who by now can’t have any more children and is threatened to be overturned by Jane Seymour) and the Duke of Norfolk. Hardstaff excels to capture the feel, taste and smell of the Tudor period, telling the story from a common girls point of view. Moss’s journey starts from the Tower of London, the river banks of the River Thames and to Hampton Court Palace (where Moss, in fact, meets Anne Boleyn in the garden). Along the way, Moss befriends a clever, cunning, and crude young thief, Salter, who is not only the source of much entertainment but also provides the reader with a look at how a living could be made on the river during this time period, which in simple terms it’s pretty harsh.
Though this book is aimed at 9 to 12-year-olds, it was compelling and very easy to read. I admired how Hardstaff’s use of metaphors, similes and colloquial language of Tudor times is spot on, I felt like I was there with Moss and Salter’s adventure in the bitterly cold winter of 16th century England. I would be making a huge list of metaphors so it’s better you go ahead and read it yourselves, they’re quite funny.
I have to bear in mind that Moss is a child but at times I found her quite trying. She moans about being the executioner’s daughter and how she hates her father’s job. Fair enough she has to rant it out. When her father reveals the real reason she simply runs away, which I guess is typical of an eleven-year-old girl but from an older readers perspective Moss should have simply talked to her father.
But then of course if she hadn’t run away she wouldn’t go on an adventure to Hampton to find her roots and encounter the creepy River Witch, hell-bent on taking Moss away.
All I have to say is this is a great young adult book that resonates with children themes of adventure. If you’re a fan of historical fiction especially the Tudor era then The Executioner’s Daughter is for you. As an adult, I may read it later on but I would defiantly recommend it to other young readers. I did enjoy this story and I’m ardently looking forward to seeing more from Hardstaff – the talented storyteller.
Rating: 4/5
Publishers: Egmont
Publication date: January 30 2014
Genre: Historical/ Young Adult
This fiction story also ties with real events of that time. So the readers get a snippet of King Henry the 8th and his Queen Anne Boleyn (who by now can’t have any more children and is threatened to be overturned by Jane Seymour) and the Duke of Norfolk. Hardstaff excels to capture the feel, taste and smell of the Tudor period, telling the story from a common girls point of view. Moss’s journey starts from the Tower of London, the river banks of the River Thames and to Hampton Court Palace (where Moss, in fact, meets Anne Boleyn in the garden). Along the way, Moss befriends a clever, cunning, and crude young thief, Salter, who is not only the source of much entertainment but also provides the reader with a look at how a living could be made on the river during this time period, which in simple terms it’s pretty harsh.
Though this book is aimed at 9 to 12-year-olds, it was compelling and very easy to read. I admired how Hardstaff’s use of metaphors, similes and colloquial language of Tudor times is spot on, I felt like I was there with Moss and Salter’s adventure in the bitterly cold winter of 16th century England. I would be making a huge list of metaphors so it’s better you go ahead and read it yourselves, they’re quite funny.
I have to bear in mind that Moss is a child but at times I found her quite trying. She moans about being the executioner’s daughter and how she hates her father’s job. Fair enough she has to rant it out. When her father reveals the real reason she simply runs away, which I guess is typical of an eleven-year-old girl but from an older readers perspective Moss should have simply talked to her father.
But then of course if she hadn’t run away she wouldn’t go on an adventure to Hampton to find her roots and encounter the creepy River Witch, hell-bent on taking Moss away.
All I have to say is this is a great young adult book that resonates with children themes of adventure. If you’re a fan of historical fiction especially the Tudor era then The Executioner’s Daughter is for you. As an adult, I may read it later on but I would defiantly recommend it to other young readers. I did enjoy this story and I’m ardently looking forward to seeing more from Hardstaff – the talented storyteller.
Rating: 4/5
Publishers: Egmont
Publication date: January 30 2014
Genre: Historical/ Young Adult
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