Alchemy and Meggy Swann

Nov 21, 2011 Esti rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-ya-media-class

Meggy Swann is yet another of Karen Cushman's bold historical heroines, making her entertaining best of a strange situation. When her mysterious father summons her to London from the country only to ignore her, Meggy, who cannot walk without the aid of two sticks, finds herself stuck, with only her pet goose for company. Skeptical of her father's alchemical experiments and determined to survive on her own in the strange, dirty city, she gathers her wits a few new (human) friends, uncovers a murd...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 27, 2011 Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, mg

I had originally looked at this in print form but when I discovered that Katherine Kellegren narrated the audiobook then I just had to listen to it. This one was so worth listening to on audiobook. I would never have done it the same justice reading it. Usually any of the "song" or poetry sections I skim through but Katherine Kellgren sings them which adds an extra level of wonderfulness to the story. Cushman does MG historical fiction well. You can almost smell and taste things that she describ...more

1 like · like · see review

May 09, 2013 meeners rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: children, history

i think i must have first read catherine, called birdy when i was 10 or 11, most likely through the scholastic book club program that they did in my school. (it was always easier to convince my parents to buy books for me if they had the names of awards printed on the cover. thank you, newbery and caldecott awards!) picked this up on a whim for the nostalgia factor, and out of an academic interest in the craft of children's writing and curiosity to see how various narrative forms translate acros...more

like · see review

Sep 28, 2012 Lina rated it 4 of 5 stars

I always enjoy the work of Karen Cushman and very much liked this book. In Elizabethan England, 13-year-old Meggy has traveled from the small village where she has spent her whole life to London to meet the father she has never known. He is disappointed to learn that he has a daughter rather than a son, whom he expected to help him with his work as an alchemist. Meggy, who requires crutches to help her walk, having been born with a disability, feels hurt and rejected but has no means of returnin...more

like · see review

Sep 22, 2012 Patricia J. O'Brien rated it 4 of 5 stars

Karen Cushman snuck up and stole my heart with this middle-grade tale. Meggy Swann is an angry girl, who shreds people with her sharp retorts and doesn't easily make friends. But I immediately felt compassion for her and respect for her strength in the face of adversity.
The story opens in Elizabethan England with Meggy cursing, and no wonder. She finds herself alone in a "strange, dark, cold, skinny house." It was the skinny that got my immediate attention. I could see the cramped, inhospitable...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 04, 2012 Alexandra K rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

This was one of the picks for the kids book club at my store the last time around, and I thought, "this book looks like an Alex book." Not only is it by Karen Cushman, author of Catherine Called Birdy (which I loved), but it takes place in Elizabethan London and involves ballads. Readers, I was right. Alchemy and Meggy Swann is *fantastic*.

Her loving grandmother having passed away and her alehouse keeper mother having no use for a crippled daughter that drives away customers, Meggy Swann is sent...more This was one of the picks for the kids book club at my store the last time around, and I thought, "this book looks like an Alex book." Not only is it by Karen Cushman, author of Catherine Called Birdy (which I loved), but it takes place in Elizabethan London and involves ballads. Readers, I was right. Alchemy and Meggy Swann is *fantastic*.

Her loving grandmother having passed away and her alehouse keeper mother having no use for a crippled daughter that drives away customers, Meggy Swann is sent to London to live with her father. Unfortunately her father, an alchemist obsessed with the "great work" of discovering the Philosopher's Stone, has no use for a crippled daughter either, and mostly leaves Meggy to fend for herself. At first Meggy is angry, sad, and lonely, afraid to explore the streets of her new home. It doesn't help that it's painful for her to walk. But Meggy is stronger than she looks, not to mention stubborn, and carves out her own place in London with human friends - not to mention foiling an assassination attempt.

First of all, I really appreciated that this is a book with a disabled character that is NOT about her disability; Meggy was born with her leg joints not fitting into her hips quite right, so she can only "wabble around" (her words) with the help of a walking stick per hand. It doesn't help that attitudes towards people with disabilities were much worse than they are now (not to say that we're perfect, because we're not). Despite all the odds stacked against her, Meggy is a strong character, female, who takes charge of her own life (even if it takes her a while). You know Cushman is a talented author if she can keep me invested in a character for what amounts to a solid 60 pages of self-pity.

I loved how all the characters are so well-drawn, and how many types of families are shown. I loved how you really feel like you're in Elizabethan London - I was there myself within a few pages. I loved how Cushman pulled off the language of the book - the characters all speak in an approximation of Elizabethan English. In the hands of a lesser author this could have gone terribly, but it only added to the charm of the book for me. After a few chapters I barely even noticed (though the language might make it a bit tough to understand for some kids).

There you have it: everyone should read Alchemy and Meggy Swann. It is wonderful.(less)

like · see review

May 22, 2012 Pandora rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s, summer-reading

Summary: Crippled Meggy is asked to come live with her father. Her mother happy to get rid of Meggy sends her to London. Once in London Meggy discovers her father is an obbesssd alchemist who has little time or love for a crippled daughter. Meggy also has to deal with the difficulty of people who asscciate deformity with witchcraft. Meggy though is tough and with the help of friends creates a place for herself.

Review: I found this book to be very dissppointing. Altough it has some good character...more

like · see review

Mar 08, 2012 Sharon rated it 1 of 5 stars

SO disappointed in this book! Not sure it's worth even ONE star! This book left me flat and disinterested. I didn't care for any of the characters. So much potential, but no delivery! Even Louise, Meggy's goose, is taken out of the story too soon for you to get attached to! Karen Cushman spent most of this book creating situations for the two main characters to have a reason to hurl insults at eachother. (in the language of the day, of course) (hmm, I wonder how many pages of just insults there...more

like · see review

Jan 06, 2012 Shweta rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-historical-fiction

I had heard a lot about Karen Cushman's books but this was the first time I read a book by her. I was really surprised at the ease with which she made the reader connect with history of the period( Elizabethan period in this case ) as well as with Meggy, our protagonist.

What begins as a rather bleak , mundane existence for Meggy turns into a beautiful journey of self discovery . I took me a while to get used to the pace of the book set by Cushman. It's middle grade fiction hence she lets the rea...more

like · see review

Dec 29, 2011 Kara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: tudor-fiction

Talk about warts and all!

I’ll admit, I came to this book reluctantly, pretty sure it was going to be Good, but in a there’ll-be-a-quiz-later, assigned reading kind of way. Surprise! I got really into it and thoroughly enjoyed the tour through Meggy’s world.

Karen Cushman brings 1570’s London to dirty, smelly, grimy life in this book. She’s done her homework, and it shows, but in a way that works for the story, not in a lets-just-jam-in-as-many-anectdotes-and-facts-regardless-if-they-fit-or-not wa...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 27, 2011 Teacher. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Reviewed at my blog: HERE @ Teacher.Mother.Reader Book Blog

Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman is a middle grade fiction book set in Elizabethan London. Much like Cushman’s Newberry Honor winning book, Catherine, Called Birdy, this book features old world musings, setting, and characters. What is very different about this book was the main character who has a disability and a cast of other characters who are some likable and some loathsome. The book tells the short adventure of a young girl...more Reviewed at my blog: HERE @ Teacher.Mother.Reader Book Blog

Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman is a middle grade fiction book set in Elizabethan London. Much like Cushman’s Newberry Honor winning book, Catherine, Called Birdy, this book features old world musings, setting, and characters. What is very different about this book was the main character who has a disability and a cast of other characters who are some likable and some loathsome. The book tells the short adventure of a young girl, Meggy Swann.

Meggy Swan makes her way through life using rudimentary crutches that leave her winded and sore. She has a sharp wit and good humor, which she needs to make her way in the dirty and crude world of London in the 16th century. Meggy has come to London to be with her father, an alchemist, who she hasn’t met until now. Not only are the London streets cruel, her father is quite unkind as are many neighbors and strangers who fear the young disabled girl, fearing that she is a wicked girl scarred with her disabled legs. Meggy finally does find a few friends including her father’s former apprentice, Roger. The adventure in London is full of twists and turns, good times, but mostly bad times, plus humor and quick witted remarks.

I am not sure what I expected when I began this book, but it was a short read full of humor and period details. Much of the story was told in dialogue, so at time it was somewhat slow. It was great to see a character with a major disability played as a strong and beautiful young girl like Meggy. I found myself, often needing to look up words from the book and trying to picture the scenes in my head. I don’t know a lot about the time period so it was more interesting to me than distracting. While I enjoyed the book, I found it not as wonderful as Cushman’s original favorite, Catherine Called Birdy. That being said, if you liked Catherine, you will find this a good read. I do have to say the cover isn’t too inspiring, or maybe just not my style. If you do enjoy period reads, strong female characters, and books by Newberry honor winners, this is a book you should check out.(less)

like · see review

Aug 25, 2011 Pamela Voyles rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It is hard for children with physical disabilities. Everyday tasks can be overwhelming and difficult. This is especially true for children. It is hard enough to go through all the developmental changes of adolescents, but it creates more problems when a physical disability is added to all the changes. It can create isolation and cause a child to have few friends
and sometimes no friends at all. It helps to have someone around who is understanding and compassionate. Unfortunately sometimes in lif...more

like · see review

Aug 06, 2011 Judi Paradis rated it 3 of 5 stars

I love old English history, and I loved Karen Cushman's earlier books--especially Catherine, Called Birdy, so I was really looking forward to this book set at the time of Queen Elizabeth in the early 1600s London. While, I enjoyed this one, I didn't love it. Meggy Swann has been sent to live with her father, as her mother wants nothing to do with her. Meggy's legs don't work well and she must struggle with "walking sticks" to get around. She's been viewed all her life as marked by the devil for...more

like · see review

Jul 05, 2011 Hilary rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: grad-class

This was supremely well written and researched; I liked Catherine, Called Birdy better, I admit, but this was well done. The Elizabethan insults that Meggy and Roger slung (slinged?) at each other made the Bard himself proud, I'm sure. The plot is a little simple, which is fine, and Meggy is hard to like at first (which is the point, I believe), but overall this is a good book for the genre. It is full of some interesting characters in London and might be a good text to use with a middle school,...more

like · see review

Jun 27, 2011 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Category: upper elementary
Author: Karen Cushman
Title: Alchemy and Meggy Swann
Publisher: Clarion Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2010
ISBN: 978-0-547-23184-6
Genre: historical fiction
Reading level: 5th grade and up
Awards: Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production Honor 2011

Meggy Swann is an impoverished girl who lives in Elizabethan England. Unable to keep food on the table, her mother sends her off to London to assist her father (whom she has never met) in his pursuit as an alchemist. E...more

like · see review

Feb 19, 2011 Lars Guthrie rated it 5 of 5 stars

While reading Anne Scott MacLeod’s thought-provoking essay on historical fiction in the recent, and excellent, ‘A Family of Readers: The Book Lover’s Guide to Children’s and Young Adult Literature,’ I was a little distressed to learn that MacLeod faults Karen Cushman for copping out on her heroine’s fate in ‘Catherine, Called Birdy.’

At the end of that work, Birdy lucks out when her arranged medieval marriage to an ‘old, ugly, and illiterate’ lecher is cancelled when he dies. Instead, she will we...more While reading Anne Scott MacLeod’s thought-provoking essay on historical fiction in the recent, and excellent, ‘A Family of Readers: The Book Lover’s Guide to Children’s and Young Adult Literature,’ I was a little distressed to learn that MacLeod faults Karen Cushman for copping out on her heroine’s fate in ‘Catherine, Called Birdy.’

At the end of that work, Birdy lucks out when her arranged medieval marriage to an ‘old, ugly, and illiterate’ lecher is cancelled when he dies. Instead, she will wed his young, handsome, and well-read son.

Not a legitimate representation of the time, MacLeod insists. ‘In fairness,’ she admits, ‘I think Cushman knew this; she just flinched at consigning her likable character to her likely fate.’ (MacLeod’s piece is online at The Horn Book’s site: http://www.hbook.com/magazine/article....)

OK, sure. But I loved ‘Catherine, Called Birdy.’ I also believe that children have the wherewithal to distinguish fantasy from history, and to realize that writers of fiction have license to alter the documentary record. Readers of ‘Catherine’ learn a great deal about England in the late thirteenth century. As MacLeod has to acknowledge, ‘Birdy’s world is real enough---rough, dirty, and uncomfortable….’

I suppose ‘Alchemy and Meggy Swann’ could be criticized in the same way. Perhaps Meggy, a poor teenaged girl left orphaned in Elizabethan London, crippled by a congenital birth defect, should have ended up battered and hopeless. That would’ve been a different, and grimmer, tale.

A tale that could not have starred Cushman’s Meggy, a typically and satisfyingly feisty and sharp-tongued protagonist whose hard exterior covers the warmest of hearts. But Meggy’s life in exile is hardly anodynic, and Cushman’s London festers, filthy, stinking, noisy—and alive with color and flavor.

With the death of her beloved granny, Meggy has been ousted from country home and sent to her absent-minded and irresponsible father. He’s the one who practices alchemy. With the end of the period of servitude for the boy who assists the alchemist, he is forced to recognize his daughter and enlist her help.

The boy, Roger, turns out to be Meggy’s first friend in London, other than her pet goose. Unlike others, Roger does not ‘look to…demons’ to explain Meggy’s hip dysplasia. He’s more interested in her eyes than her limp.

Attempting to finance the search to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, worthless material into gold, Meggy’s father gets in too deep with the wrong sort. Meggy is, of course, the one who must try to subvert the nefarious plot that ensues.

As she does, she ‘wabbles’ through the crowded London streets and the reader learns about ballads and broadsides, sausage pies and ale, and that alchemy and natural philosophy were precursors of chemistry and the Scientific Revolution.

The reader is also treated to a marvelous story. In the same way that alchemy blurs the line between magic and reason, Cushman crafts a blend of energetic fiction with an authentic dose of the era’s language, customs, sights, sounds, and smells that earns ‘Alchemy and Meggy Swann’ a place among the best children’s historical fiction.

Highly recommended for fifth graders on up.(less)

4 likes · like · see review

Jan 27, 2011 Maureen E rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, simply-superb, young-adult, middle-grade-and-younger

by Karen Cushman

Opening line: "'Ye toads and vipers,' the girl said, as her granny often had, 'ye toads and vipers,' and she snuffled a great snuffle that echoed in the empty room."

Is that not a marvelous opening sentence? And the rest of the book doesn't disappoint. I read Alchemy and Meggy Swann right after All Clear, and it was just what I needed. Light enough to not send me back into weeping fits and with enough substance that it didn't annoy me.

Meggy is a great main character. I couldn't...more by Karen Cushman

Opening line: "'Ye toads and vipers,' the girl said, as her granny often had, 'ye toads and vipers,' and she snuffled a great snuffle that echoed in the empty room."

Is that not a marvelous opening sentence? And the rest of the book doesn't disappoint. I read Alchemy and Meggy Swann right after All Clear, and it was just what I needed. Light enough to not send me back into weeping fits and with enough substance that it didn't annoy me.

Meggy is a great main character. I couldn't help but love Meggy and feel for her as she finds her way through London. I believe that it's supposed to be Elizabethan, but the general sense of time is vague enough that it could really be just about any point from Tudor to Restoration England. (I'm sure you could date it more specifically, based on the players' laws on the point of being enacted. And it's very far from a criticism--I think the lack of tied-down detail allows a certain freedom of story and character.)

I really enjoyed that we got a story that wasn't about the nobility. I have no objection to stories about the nobility in general, but it's nice to get a different flavor. And I think it does tend to be an underrepresented area in mg/YA. It was also nice to see a story that wasn't about the nobility but also didn't have a main message of "Woe are us! We are all so poor and miserable and starving!" Granted, the characters lead difficult lives, often with the source of their livelihood extremely vulnerable. And yet, they're not simply mournful creatures. They do occasionally have fun!

Finally, it's a great glimpse into a lost world. Cushman's language perfectly conveys the patterns of long-ago speech without seeming so different as to be distancing or distracting. It was all beautifully done and I highly enjoyed it.

Book source: public library
Book information: Clarion books, 2010; mg/YA (I think that tolerant YA readers--i.e., the ones who don't immediately shake the dust of middle grade books from their feet--would enjoy this a lot, but there's nothing that I noticed to keep middle grade readers from enjoying it too. SLJ has it as grades 5-8.)

Other reviews:
King County Library
The Hungry Readers
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jan 02, 2011 Lisa Frase rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: middle-grade

Alchemy and Meggy Swann is set in London during the Renaissance (the era of Elizabeth I, but before Shakespeare). Meggy's father sends for her and her mother is glad to see her gone. She arrives only to discover that her father expected a son, and certainly not a crippled daughter. Meggy must learn to overcome obstacles, including self-loathing, in order to find friendship and her place in the world.

This book is appropriate for strong readers grades 4 and up. The readability level is upper fifth...more

like · see review

Dec 15, 2010 Bobby rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, kidsstuff

A tale set in Elizabethan London. Raised by her grandmother since her mother wants nothing to do with her, Meggy Swann, who is crippled, is sent to live with her estranged father after her grandmother's passing. Her father is distant and seems bizarre, locked away in his laboratory, trying to find the seemingly impossible in his experiments.

I really liked Meggy as a character, quick-tempered but ultimately kind. She is fully capable and self-reliant and certainly not a martyr despite her conditi...more

like · see review

Dec 02, 2010 Aaron rated it 3 of 5 stars

Cushman, who has already written strong books about the Middle Ages with Catherine, Called Birdy, The Midwife's Apprentice, and Matilda Bone brings middle/intermediate readers into a later era the early years of Elizabeth I's reign. Margaret "Meggy" Swann has come to London to live with her father, whom she has never really known. To date, she has lived in the English countryside with her mother, who runs the town tavern. Going to the city is going to be a big change, and she is not sure that sh...more Cushman, who has already written strong books about the Middle Ages with Catherine, Called Birdy, The Midwife's Apprentice, and Matilda Bone brings middle/intermediate readers into a later era the early years of Elizabeth I's reign. Margaret "Meggy" Swann has come to London to live with her father, whom she has never really known. To date, she has lived in the English countryside with her mother, who runs the town tavern. Going to the city is going to be a big change, and she is not sure that she is going to be able to adapt well since she has a strong limp that makes it painful and difficult for her to walk. She is only able to do so with the help of a pair of walking sticks.

Meggy arrives in the city with only a few things and her best friend Louise, who is a goose with a wing abnormality that makes it impossible for her to fly. The two arrive at her father's house and are greeted by an outgoing apprentice who introduces her to the fact that her father is, in fact, an alchemist, and one who has little care for anything other than his research.

This dashes Meggy's hope that this will be an opportunity for her to get to know her father better. In fact, he is distant and seems disappointed by the fact that she needs to be taken care of. He would rather have had a boy who would be able to follow in his footsteps and be an apprentice. This does not stop her from trying to live up to his hopes. She not only starts to care for the house and makes sure that he eats when he is supposed, but she also starts to help him around his laboratorium.

As Meggy learns more about her father's work, she also comes across a horrible secret, and she is going to have to decide what it means for her father, her relationship to him, and to those around them. It is a decision that will change their lives forever. She turns to some neighbors she has built friendships with for some help and advice throughout the whole book.

I had really been looking forward to this one both because I like the author and the time period. The characters were interesting, but the book itself seemed to struggle a bit with keeping my attention. In a way, it felt like the book just brushed the surface of the characters introduced and the story seemed to have little content when it comes to plot. While it is a short novel, it almost felt like an extended short story. The concept was great, but I just felt like it could have been so much more meaty.(less)

like · see review

Aug 21, 2010 Hilary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: grades-5-6, grades-7-8, historical-fiction

Set in Elizabethan England, Alchemy and Meggy Swann follows the title character after she is sent from her country home to live in London with her father whom she has never met. She is met with barely a glance and snort before being banished to a cold dank room where she is to stay. After mopping about for a few days Meggy decides to take action and find herself some food by venturing into the putrid streets of London. No small feat for Meggy who can only walk with the help of two sticks and wit...more

like · see review

Aug 14, 2010 Sandra Stiles rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, middle-grades

I guess I am a sucker for good Historical Fiction. Karen Cushman has created a character, Meggy Swann that you must feel sorry for, annoyed at and love all at the same time. Born a cripple in 1573 England, Meggy has more problems than two legs that won't work. Her mother doesn't want her and thrust her upon her grandmother. When her grandmother dies and her father, whom she has never known sends for "his child", her mother is happy to get rid of her. She considers her a curse on her business. Me...more

like · see review

May 08, 2010 Sarah Finley rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Margret, or Meggy, Swann, is sent to live with her father, an alchemist, in 16th century London. Meggy was born crippled and endures treatment from her own mother and from strangers. She is considered marked by God for her sins, a harbinger of doom, and is subjected to a variety of colorful insults. Luckily for Meggy, she was raised in an alehouse and has a tongue sharper than anyone who crosses her path. Her father is none to pleased to find his child is not a son, but a daughter who hobbles ar...more Margret, or Meggy, Swann, is sent to live with her father, an alchemist, in 16th century London. Meggy was born crippled and endures treatment from her own mother and from strangers. She is considered marked by God for her sins, a harbinger of doom, and is subjected to a variety of colorful insults. Luckily for Meggy, she was raised in an alehouse and has a tongue sharper than anyone who crosses her path. Her father is none to pleased to find his child is not a son, but a daughter who hobbles around with the aid of two sticks, but he does his best to tolerate her. She comes to befriend her father's former apprentice, Roger, and a host of other characters, from the cooper to the printer to the band of players Roger becomes apprenticed to later.

I do love Karen Cushmen's ability to bring the past to life in vivid detail. I also appreciate her refusal to brush over the grittiness of life. Just as it was with Catherine, Called Birdy and The Midwife's Apprentice, she shows all the dirt and grime of life, along with its misfortunes and injustices. Yet her books are always humorous and end on positive notes, almost as if her characters have learned to make lemonade out of the lemons life inevitably throws at them. Meggy's father never shows her any affection, but he is less cruel than her mother, but he does abandon her in the end. Meggy's painful, crippling hip dysplasia cannot be fixed, but after weeks of walking all over London, she realizes that at the very least she is getting stronger, and her friend the cooper makes her new walking sticks that do not hurt her hands so much.

Also of note are the insults throughout the book. I wish Cushman had included a glossary or at least an index of every insult, for they are numerous. "Ugglesome crookleg," "mewling, flap-mouthed flax wench," "gleeking swag-bellied maggot," "knoddy-pated whey face," and "wart-necked mammering clap dish" are some of the best.

Highly enjoyable, and a great read for kids, in my opinion. (less)

1 like · like · see review

Apr 23, 2010 Pamela rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-review-copy

1573. Elizabeth the First is on the throne. And London is a cesspool. Literally-- with animal carcasses, urine and garbage on the streets. The people who live there are scarcely cleaner, and they run the gambit of humankind; everything from lordly Barons who read Latin and Greek and dress in silks, to uneducated 'rustica' who believe in witches and an active Devil, who wear flees and lice and clothes until they literally drop off their backs.

Such is the world into which poor Meggy Swann is born....more 1573. Elizabeth the First is on the throne. And London is a cesspool. Literally-- with animal carcasses, urine and garbage on the streets. The people who live there are scarcely cleaner, and they run the gambit of humankind; everything from lordly Barons who read Latin and Greek and dress in silks, to uneducated 'rustica' who believe in witches and an active Devil, who wear flees and lice and clothes until they literally drop off their backs.

Such is the world into which poor Meggy Swann is born. A babe who never saw her father, and who was scorned by her single mother, she is cursed and spat on for having a handicap commonly believed to have been delivered by the devil. It's a world where she is feared and avoided, where the only love she knows comes from her Gran and her goose, Louise. Thus when her Gran dies, she seems totally at her wits end, until surprising a note arrives from her father asking her to come and live with him.

Meggy goes to London, but neither her father nor the city is what she was prepared for. Her father is obsessed with alchemy and expecting a healthy son to help in his work. (Howse that for out of touch). And London... well, London is a crowded sty. And yet, despite the obstacles she faces, something near magical happens.

TALKING POINTS:::
There's alchemy in this book but it has nothing to do with converting lead into gold; but rather with a transformation involving Ms. Swann and her father. (You'll have to look close, the author doesn't hit you over the head with it.)

Alchemy and Meggy Swann is a historical novel that brings the period to life. In fact that the author has a bibliography and some comments about the Elizabethan era at the end for interested readers.

This is a Young Adult book is best going to appeal to readers who like dialect and historical novels. I'm a little hesitate to suggest it universally as the adventure is a little plodding for youngsters.

Pam
Somewhere in the X-burbs
(booksforkids-reviews.com)

Accelerated Reading level::: generic "5"

* Hardcover: 176 pages
* Publisher: Clarion Books (April 26, 2010)
* ISBN-10: 0547231849 (less)

like · see review

Apr 19, 2010 Bruce rated it 4 of 5 stars

When her beloved granny died, Margaret Swann is informed by her mother that her father has sent for her, and she’s to go live with him in London. Meggy is shocked; she never knew that she had a father. Well, she knew that she must have had a father because everyone has or had one, but never in her thirteen years has her mother mentioned him to her. So she arrives in London with her only friend: her pet goose Louise. Louise has a sprung wing and cannot fly, just as Meggy has crooked legs and cann...more

like · see review

Apr 16, 2010 Tasha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens-books

The Newbery Medal winner for The Midwife’s Apprentice returns with a book set in Elizabethan London. Meggy has been summoned for by a father she has never met. When she arrives at his doorstep with only clothes and her lone friend, a goose, she is met with disdain and dismissal. It could be that she is a girl, but it probably also that Meggy can’t walk without using two crutches. She calls her gait “wabbling” and has spent her life hidden from sight at her mother’s inn. Now Meggy doesn’t have an...more

like · see review

Jan 22, 2010 Kirby rated it 5 of 5 stars

From the moment Meggy Swann wabbles on scene with a terse assessment of her new living situation with her long-absent father ("Ye toads and vipers!), I was swept up in this robustius book. Cushman transported me to smelly, raucous and mysterious London in the Elizabethan times with a deft hand and a exuberant use of deliciously old-fashioned words (gallimaufry! belike! laboratorium!). And she piles trouble upon trouble on dear Meggy -- " her legs did not sit right in her hips;" her alchemist fat...more

like · see review

Jan 30, 2013 Miss Pippi the Librarian rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adolescent-audio-adventures, juvenile-fiction

Ye toads and vipers! Meggy Swann journeyed to London to be with her unknown father. When she arrives, the alchemist sees her and shows his great disappoint that she is not a he. Meggy feels unloved and unwanted in a filthy new place. Will London ever be home to an unlucky girl?

Karen Cushman excels at historical fiction. Her view of the the Elizabethan age / Shakespearean era is wonderful. She takes Meggy on a journey, not only to a new location, but to learn about herself. Meggy must overcome he...more

like · see review

May 25, 2011 Josiah rated it 2 of 5 stars

"Do not greet the world with your fists up, sweeting. Give folks a chance."

—Meggy's gran, Alchemy and Meggy Swann, P. 8

Living in 16th century England is not easy for a crippled girl like Meggy Swann. Of course, it's much better than if she had lived only a few decades earlier, when lameness was almost universally considered a scourge from God, a black mark to torture the evil souls of witches and other such satanic creatures. By the time that Meggy Swann has come on the scene, such a doctrina...more "Do not greet the world with your fists up, sweeting. Give folks a chance."

—Meggy's gran, Alchemy and Meggy Swann, P. 8

Living in 16th century England is not easy for a crippled girl like Meggy Swann. Of course, it's much better than if she had lived only a few decades earlier, when lameness was almost universally considered a scourge from God, a black mark to torture the evil souls of witches and other such satanic creatures. By the time that Meggy Swann has come on the scene, such a doctrinal position is no longer officially espoused by the church, but there are many who believe in it no less firmly than in bygone days. To Meggy, being a physical cripple is a curse in more ways than that of just a pronounced lack of mobility; she faces scorn nearly every time that she appears in public, and all because of a birth defect over which she had no control.

Things get worse for Meggy Swann. Her mother, no longer wanting the responsibility of taking care of a young person with special physical needs, sends the girl off to the father—whom she has never before seen—in the bustling big city of London. Apparently the reason that he was willing to take Meggy at all is that her mother had carefully guarded the truth from him: he didn't know that his child was a daughter and not a son, and he didn't realize that she was crippled. Such a girl could hardly be of use assisting him in his alchemical experimentation, he figures, but it's too late now to send Meggy back to her mother.

Meggy's father is a cold, distant man, possessed of little kindness and almost no observable regard for his daughter's well-being. He shuts himself up in an upstairs room practically night and day, working his pseudo-scientific sleight-of-hand while trying to come up with the key to the mystery of transforming dross substances into the metal regarded as most precious of them all...gold. He has hopes for more than just that, though. Meggy's father believes that if he can learn the secret of physical transformation then he may also be able to change old age into youth, death into life, and physical infirmity into complete homeostasis. Meggy's father may not be a generous or kind man, but he has given his daughter something that she never before had in regard to her crippled body; he has given her hope that someday her situation may be different, that the possibility exists that she could eventually shed the heavy walking sticks that encumber her and walk, or even dance, on her own. Whether or not the basis for his claims are reasonable, it's the first time that Meggy has ever felt hope for herself, and it could be what saves her.

Meggy's father slowly begins to allow his daughter a bit more access to himself, as an assistant in his alchemy lab. As a result of her proximity to his work, though, Meggy overhears a nascent plot to kill the local baron with a poisonous mixture to be cooked up by her father. Meggy knows that she cannot stand idly by and allow a man to be murdered, even if her father is involved. But what can she do to get a rich, inaccessible man like the baron to listen to a poor crippled child? How can she alert the nobleman to the plot for his demise without betraying her father, her one guardian left in this world?

Meggy has some surprises coming her way in this story. Beaten down by life as she has been, she hasn't become completely bitter, and her willingness to see good in herself and others and act according to it gives her a chance to become something more than a poor girl attached to a father who doesn't want her any more than did her mother. There's something better out there for Meggy Swann, and this book, ultimately, is about her learning how to reach out and claim it as her future.

Karen Cushman does a superb job of researching and of integrating her research seamlessly into the plot of Alchemy and Meggy Swann. It doesn't feel like a heavily researched book while reading it, which only points to the skill of the author; I'm sure that she performed many long hours working on piecing together the accurate historical information for this book. For maintaining that standard of historical fiction, I would consider give two and a half stars to Alchemy and Meggy Swann. (less)

like · see review

Jun 19, 2010 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: grades 5-7

Shelves: children-historical, audio

When Meggy’s mother unexpectedly sends her to live with her father, a man she’s never even met, Meggy accepts this without much hesitation because her mother has never loved her. Her father wants an apprentice in his alchemy lab, although he decides that he does not, in fact, want her to assist him once he sees that: 1) she’s a girl, and 2) she needs sticks to help her walk.

Having lived in a small town up until now, Meggy immediately hates London; it’s too loud, crowded, and confusing to her. Sh...more

like · see review

title link	preview: Alchemy and Meggy Swann
avg rating	preview: Alchemy and Meggy Swann Goodreads rating: 3.47 (1130 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6799504-alchemy-and-meggy-swann?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347627691l/6799504.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6799504-alchemy-and-meggy-swann?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman[/url]

Alchemy and Meggy Swann

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (8)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Karen Cushman

Books by Karen Cushman

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Alchemy and Meggy...