May 2010

Author/s: Julie Hearn
Publisher: Oxford University Press UK
Reviewed by: Esta Burger Age: 15
ISBN 13: 9780192791573

This is another book from the author of Ivy. Nell is a Merrybegot, a child conceived on the first of May and very sacred to nature. She, like the other Merrybegots, has blonde hair and green eyes. She lives with her granny and together they provide herbal medicine to the remote village they live in. Her granny teaches her how to be a midwife. She also has a stupid chicken that has lived with them for a long time. But Nell has a very special job as a Merrybegot. She is to be a midwife for special creatures: fairies.

In the village the preacher’s daughters are unwell. They are ill and spitting pins. No-one knows what it could be. But the piskies is always around, and between them news travels extremely fast. Soon a witch-finder comes to the village and preaches about witchery. Everyone is scared and starts looking out for witches. After numerous happenings, Nell’s granny is said to be a witch and the village is determined to stop her. But neither Nell nor her granny is a witch! So how did it happen that Nell ends up at the gallows, ready to be hanged??

Fifty years later, Patience Madden, the preacher’s youngest daughter, makes a confession. She confesses the story behind Nell and her granny, as well as her sister’s dealings with the“devil”.

This book was interesting, but I found it very confusing. Nell’s story (in 1645) happens alongside Patience Madden’s confession (in 1692). One chapter is about Nell and the next is Patience Madden’s confession. The chapters then follow that pattern, so you struggle to keep up with the storyline. This book has a lot of figurative meanings, but they are not always very clear. The plot is also very complicated. You have to read between the lines. I would not recommend it to strongly religious people, because there is a lot about witchery and the devil is mentioned often. It’s not scary; it’s actually a drama and quite sad. I liked Nell and the way the story came together, but I didn’t quite understand the ending.

Link to online catalogue
The Merrybegot