“A funny and wise book about friendship, loyalty, and love.”—Karen Cushman
Johanna is a servant girl to Dame Marger... read full description
Johanna is a servant girl to Dame Marger... read full description
reviews
Jan 08, 2012
Molly
rated it: 
The medieval holy woman Margery Kempe dictated 'The Book of Margery Kempe,' which is considered the first autobiography in the English language. In it, she relates her experiences on several pilgrimages to holy sites. According to the novelist Rebecca Barnhouse, the book is also riddled with Kempe's gripes about her "ungrateful" maidservant, who is constantly disappointing her.
In this novel, Barnhouse imagines the maid's own tale. Poverty and bad luck land Johanna in the serv More...
In this novel, Barnhouse imagines the maid's own tale. Poverty and bad luck land Johanna in the serv More...
Oct 31, 2011
Ana
rated it:
I forget exactly where i first read about this, it might have been through bookslut's blog. Wherever it was, i'm so glad i decided to get it from my library. I'd been reading some heavier things, like eyewitness accounts of concentration camps, etc, so this was such a great 'light' book to get into.
Not that this wasn't without its own stress. I so felt for Johanna and all her tribulations.
I'd barely heard of Margery Kemp, whose autobiography this is loosely based on. It's More...
Not that this wasn't without its own stress. I so felt for Johanna and all her tribulations.
I'd barely heard of Margery Kemp, whose autobiography this is loosely based on. It's More...
Oct 26, 2010
The Rusty Key
rated it: 
Reviewed by Rusty Key Writer: Jordan B. Nielsen
Recommended for: A boy or girl, aged ten and up, who you’d really like to punish.
One Word Summary: Dry.
Is there a child in your life who loves unspecific Medieval history, Christian epics, and finds the woes of the serving class fascinating? What child doesn’t long for the hardscrabble romance of the fifteenth century, with its desperate and poignant struggles, all the washing of clothes in streams, the abused and More...
Recommended for: A boy or girl, aged ten and up, who you’d really like to punish.
One Word Summary: Dry.
Is there a child in your life who loves unspecific Medieval history, Christian epics, and finds the woes of the serving class fascinating? What child doesn’t long for the hardscrabble romance of the fifteenth century, with its desperate and poignant struggles, all the washing of clothes in streams, the abused and More...
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Jun 19, 2010
Rebecca
rated it:
I listed to this young adult (YA) novel on my Ipod, and I continue to be amazed at how much YA fiction impresses me. In some ways, good YA fiction seems more poignant than many “adult” novels I have read lately. Perhaps it’s how children and teenagers see the world so differently than adults, and thus it brings the world into sharper focus, tragedies and joys alike.
One of the fascinating things about this novel is that it is based on a true historical figure, Dame Margery Kempe’s More...
One of the fascinating things about this novel is that it is based on a true historical figure, Dame Margery Kempe’s More...
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May 21, 2010
Margo
rated it:
This is the first but definitely not the last novel by Rebecca Barnhouse, a new talent in historical fiction for young people. A professor of English at Youngstown State University, Barnhouse specializes in medieval literature and young adult literature, and has even written two reference books about children's and young adult literature set in the Middle Ages. With these qualifications, we would expect good things from her own novel, and indeed, she delivers a terrific story for ages 10-14.
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May 29, 2010
Kelly
rated it: 
Johanna is a maidservant to Margery Kempe, a self-proclaimed holy woman from Bishop's Lynn, England, in the early fifteenth century. Serving Dame Margery is a rough life, especially when she proclaims that she will be making a pilgrimage to Rome, and that Johanna will accompany her. Their fellow pilgrims are angered and frightened by Dame Margery's constant crying and preaching, and Johanna is forced to do the washing and cooking for the entire company. When Dame Margery abandons her, Johanna mu
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Apr 17, 2010
Abby
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This book, based on a true story, was a quick, clean, entertaining read and I really enjoyed it. I found myself getting choked up many times with sadness for Johanna, the maidservant, for what she most likely endured and for the cruel environment she was in. The author paints a picture of what it would most likely be like for a young servant girl during the 1500's and cruel doesn't come close to describe how horrible it would have been for young girls and boys sold into servitude.
Som More...
Som More...
Mar 15, 2010
Treasa
rated it:
Johanna, a servant for Dame Margery Kempe, learns one day that her mistress is going on a pilgrimage to Rome and that Johanna will be accompanying her. Johanna has not been a servant for very long and is therefore not very skilled in the tasks of cooking and mending. Despite this, once on the pilgrimage, she discovers that she is expected to act as the maidservant for all the pilgrims. The pilgrimage is full of hardship and quarreling, especially when the other pilgrims turn against Dame Margery
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Mar 02, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
I picked this book up after reading Barnhouse's newer book _The Coming of the Dragon_, which I enjoyed very much. This book, however, wasn't as enjoyable for me.
This story revolves around a young girl named Johanna who is a servant to Margery Kemp, the well-known religious woman of the Medieval era. It follows them as they make the pilgrimage to Rome from London with a small group of others. Dame Margery, as Johanna calls her, is very extreme in her demonstrations of her faith as sh More...
This story revolves around a young girl named Johanna who is a servant to Margery Kemp, the well-known religious woman of the Medieval era. It follows them as they make the pilgrimage to Rome from London with a small group of others. Dame Margery, as Johanna calls her, is very extreme in her demonstrations of her faith as sh More...
Jul 23, 2010
Jbachelder
rated it:
Barnhouse has taken the true story of a pious Christian woman from the 15th century who went on a pilgrimmage from England to Rome, and imagined the story of her young maidservant, Johanna. The history is solid, and it's a time period I find fascinating, but the story doesn't have enough action to carry a young adult novel. Johanna is mistreated all the way from England to Rome, from being abandoned by her mistress to attacked by robbers and villains. Reading about her discomforts and injusti
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Mar 18, 2011
Andie
rated it:
Dreadful book! I can't believe that I actually managed to finish it! It's about the pilgrimage of a lady who takes her maidservant with her. Apparently the lady (based completely on a real person) was supposed to be a Holy lady, but I don't understand how a Holy woman can belittle and abuse someone so much and that somehow it's actually ok. For most of the book in fact, all you hear about is people whining, complaining, fighting, and abusing this poor maidservant. And then the ONE person in the
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Jan 06, 2011
Chantelle
rated it:
Eh. I read it to help out our middle school librarian so I could recommend/not recommend.
Too dry, the kids won't like it. Good story, about a servant who has to follow her mistress on a pilgrimage to Rome, but it didn't hold my interest.
Want a book about a kid who travels through medieval Europe? Pick up
instead. Female heroine? 
. Or even 
.
Much better reads.
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Too dry, the kids won't like it. Good story, about a servant who has to follow her mistress on a pilgrimage to Rome, but it didn't hold my interest.
Want a book about a kid who travels through medieval Europe? Pick up
instead. Female heroine? . Or even .
Much better reads.
More...
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May 26, 2010
Jane
rated it:
Having read The Book of Margery Kempe in graduate school, the subject of this novel immediately piqued my interest. It turned out to be a rich middle grade piece of historical fiction of the kind I liked as a child reader -- the books that introduced me to eras, people, and events in history often long before they came up in the classroom, and which enriched my appreciation of them when they did. A much more vivid evocation of life in the middle ages and the phenomenon of the pilgrimage than c
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Jul 27, 2010
Persephone
rated it:
I grabbed this at the local library because I always need something to listen to while cooking or housekeeping. I'm really glad I did! Rebecca Barnhouse read The Book of Margery Kempe and noted Dame Margery's complaints about her young maidservant while on pilgrimage in the early fifteenth century. Barnhouse decided to tell the story from the beleaguered maidservant's point of view. This results in an entertaining, sometimes harrowing, and ultimately satisfying piece of historical fiction.
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Feb 04, 2010
Phoebe
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A historical note tells us that Margery Kempe was notable for one main reason: she was responsible for the first autobiography written in English, in which she records her pilgrimage to Rome. She mentions her maidservant, and it is this intriguing character that Barnhouse chooses to breathe life into. From the start readers will be caught up in this extremely personable girl who is forced to accompany her irritatingly pious mistress on her long and dangerous journey to Rome. Details of daily
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Jun 08, 2011
Amy
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I found this book an engaging, well-researched, fast read. Who would have thought I'd be ignoring all gainful employment to get back to the fictionalized account of Dame Margery Kempe's maidservant on a medieval pilgrimage?
The reason I didn't give it 5 stars? I'm not sure my middle schooler would share my enthusiasm.
The Book of Margery Kempe was required reading as a university freshman. I still recall how many classmates had the same irritated reaction to her plentiful t More...
The reason I didn't give it 5 stars? I'm not sure my middle schooler would share my enthusiasm.
The Book of Margery Kempe was required reading as a university freshman. I still recall how many classmates had the same irritated reaction to her plentiful t More...
Aug 15, 2011
Les
rated it:
I've read a lot about Margery Kempe, the "Madwoman of God," so I found this story very interesting, but I don't see it appealing to casual YA readers. She was by all accounts a very trying person to be around for any length of time, so it must have been miserable to have to work for her on a daily basis (or to be stuck with her presence on a pilgrimage). The author did an excellent job of conveying the miserable life endured by a servant in the Middle Ages. However, there was so much f
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Sep 03, 2010
Brynn
rated it: 
While I enjoyed this novel, I found myself having a hard time imagining who would read it. Set in the Middle Ages, the main character Joanna embarks on a pilgrimage to Rome with her mistress. The author certainly gives a good sense of life in the Middle Ages, treatment of servants at that time, and Catholicism. It would be a useful book to read in conjunction with a study of this time period in a classroom, but I'm not sure many students will gravitate toward a story like this on their own.
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Aug 15, 2009
Blue Willow
rated it:
Joanna is maidservant to Dame Margery Kempe in medieval England. The pious Dame decides that she must journey to the holy land to better understand the life of the Virgin Mary, bringing Joanna along to care for the entire group of pilgrims. On a journey she would rather avoid, doing work she abhors, Joanna finds a way to become independent of Dame Kempe, making choices about her future for the first time in her life. A wonderful novel along the lines of The Midwife’s Apprentice about a girl w
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Jul 13, 2009
Johanna is the maidservant of Dame Margery, a loudly pious woman who has decided to go on a pilgrimage to Rome. Unbeknownst to Johanna, she has been committed to serving the entire traveling party during their journey. They travel from England to France and through the Pyrenees on their way to Italy. The journey is hard, and the company is unkind to Johanna--all except John Mouse and Thomas, two scholars on their way to study law in Bologna. I loved Johanna--she wasn't a stereotypical maidservan
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Aug 30, 2011
Jessi
rated it:
First line: "My mistress says you shouldn't stare into the fire lest the devil look out at you from the flames."
Between Connie Willis' Doomsday Book, Geraldine Brooks' Year of Wonders, The Mistress of the Art of Death series, and this book, I am fast developing a passion for historical fiction set in the middle ages. It is such a different time with such a different way of living that it requires quite a bit of world building similar to much fantasy. Many of these books als More...
Between Connie Willis' Doomsday Book, Geraldine Brooks' Year of Wonders, The Mistress of the Art of Death series, and this book, I am fast developing a passion for historical fiction set in the middle ages. It is such a different time with such a different way of living that it requires quite a bit of world building similar to much fantasy. Many of these books als More...
Oct 20, 2010
Shannon
rated it:
The Book of the Maidservant did what good historical fiction always does: It transported me to another time and place (15th century Europe, specifically) and encouraged me to put myself in the shoes of others (Johanna, in this case). In this book, we follow Johanna as she accompanies her mistress from Lynn, England to Rome, Italy. Along the way, we meet fellow pilgrims, see various parts of Europe through Johanna's eyes and see firsthand the life of a servant.
I liked many things abo More...
I liked many things abo More...
May 30, 2011
Diane
rated it:
I loved this book. It reminds me a bit of the wonderful Dear America series. Johanna is a young teen (?) in the year 1413 who is sent to be a maid to a eccentric woman named Dame Margery Kempe. Kempe hears God's voice and sobs uncontrollably when thinking of the sorrows of the Virgin Mary or the torture of Jesus, but loves to be pampered and cannot see the distress of her own servants. Dame Kempe goes on a pilgrimage to Rome and takes Johanna with her and the book is the story of the pilgrimage
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Jan 12, 2010
lori!
rated it:
The story of a maidservant thrust into the difficult and dangerous world of medieval pilgrimages. Brilliantly told, with an unexpected lack of reader-coddling. Johanna isn't cuddly or particularly clever and there is a lot of dirt and villainy. But you can't help but root for (and worry about) a girl whom everyone else so summarily ignores. Gives a great perspective into medieval Europe with nary a pedantic digression in sight. My favorite piece of medieval Hist Fic since A Proud Taste for Sc
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Jun 04, 2011
Clickety
rated it:
This was JUST what (I didn't realize) I wanted to read today! I was frustrated with the protagonist in the beginning, but I kept reading because I knew her actions were... well, if not reasonable, at least internally consistent. And then she really came into her own and I was just delighted. Yaaay Johanna!
I was kinda bummed that the story just... stopped. It made me pouty! I wanted to know what happened to the other characters (well, one of them in particular).
I was kinda bummed that the story just... stopped. It made me pouty! I wanted to know what happened to the other characters (well, one of them in particular).
Dec 07, 2009
Marilyn
rated it:
This is reminiscent of The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman. I liked this one less - I never really felt connected to the main character, Johanna, but I'd recommend this for students looking for a historical fiction read for school. It's a different take on a YA historical fiction especially because it's loosely based on the first autobiography written in English. The ending seemed open to a sequel, a book I'll definitely read if it comes out.
Dec 01, 2011
Fred
rated it:
I picked this up while searching my local library for anything related to Margery Kempe for a paper. The idea of a YA novel about Kempe just seemed like it couldn't possible work, but it did. It was a little dry at times and it didn't go too in depth about the history of the period, but it was a diverting little book and I liked the fact that it might introduce young readers to a person they would otherwise not learn about until college.
Sep 01, 2010
Jennifer
rated it:
An interesting look at medieval life that might get some teens interested in the period. For me Johanna, the main character, was a bit inconsistent. Yes, she is literally and emotionally on a journey, but her jump to self-confidence and self-reliance needed more internal monologue to flesh it out. In general I would have enjoyed more details about the period, but I imagined Barnhouse wanted to keep the story moving along for younger readers.
Mar 08, 2010
Heather
rated it:
Johanna occasionally made me crazy with her wondering, "What is to become of me?" Overall, though, I found her story interesting. Admittedly, I was ready to strangle Dame Margery not long after being introduced. I found out partway through the book that Margery Kempe was a real woman; her story is apparently the earliest surviving autobiography in English. After reaching the end, I still seriously dislike Dame Margery.
I don't know that this will have a very large audience. More...
I don't know that this will have a very large audience. More...
Jul 19, 2010
Jodi
rated it:
Enjoyed the topic of this book (pilgrimage taken by the 'holy woman' Margery Kempe in the 1400s) and the fact it was based on historical fact as reported by Margery Kempe. She had written her memoirs and mentioned her maidservant and Barnhouse took it and ran with it. Clever idea. The writing itself isn’t that remarkable but it certainly was a fast read.
