What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
This topic is about
The Baker's Boy
SOLVED: Adult Fiction
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SOLVED. Adult Historical/ Fantasy. Opens with a rape scene? She might be dead or unconscious; described him wiping his "seed" off of her thighs. Read around 1999-2001. [s]
Daughter of the Forest perhaps? It's a historical fantasy from the right year, and there's a rape scene fairly early on... I'd have to skim those couple of pages to see if the exact details you've mentioned are in there.
There's no snow on the cover, but there's quite a bit of white. And it gets mistaken for a YA book quite often due to the protagonist's age when the book begins.
Hmmm,,,maybe. I just read the first few pages of Daughter of the Forest on Amazon's "look inside" feature. I don't remember it being told in first person. I feel like the rape scene was from the POV of the rapist, with third person narrative. I'm like 99% certain is was "he did this to her" not "he did this to me".
This is possibly too early for you, but could it be the Thomas Covenant series by Stephen R. Donaldson? I haven't read them, but the protagonist famously rapes a woman in the first book. The first one is called Lord Foul's Bane.
Nope, definitely not Lord Foul's Bane, which mentions phones and other mechanical stuff in the first chapter. The one I'm thinking of was definitely historical/medieval.
Mercedes Lackey's The Black Swan was published in 1999 and has a rape scene I think fairly early on from the male pov (the girl is frozen so may have seemed unconscious).A few other books come to mind - possibly Penelope Lucas's Wilderness Moon (pre-history, set in Siberia so very wintry) but I think that was female pov and published around 1992.
I'll read the beginning of Black Swan next time I'm at the library. The publication date seems right. The Kindle preview feels familiar, but possibly from my Mercedes Lackey period later in high school. From what I read on Google, the rape scene doesn't sound right (the hero rapes a bathing servant girl), but I'd have to actually read it to be sure. While my recollection of other details I vague, that rape scene really stuck in my horrified preteen mind.
One of the later books in Raymond E Feist's rift war saga series has a similar scene early on. I believe the girl's mouth was covered and her nose was clogged from crying which resulted in her death during the attack. She was young, 14 or 15 years old, the book would have been published around that time, it is a fantasy and the entire series could be considered young adult because it really isn't sexually explicit aside from that and a few other glossed over scenes over the 15+ books. I gave my collection to someone else to read, so I can't go through them to pinpoint which book it was I am thinking of, though Krondor: Tear of the Gods keeps coming to mind, but I can't be sure that's it.
So I checked the scene in "The Black Swan" and it's definitely not the one."Krondor: Tear of the Gods" is definitely also not it. That one seems to open with a battle of some kind.
The one I'm thinking of also had a sort of "isolated" feel...like the rapist and his victim weren't around anyone else, I believe. Maybe it was more of a frontier setting than a fantasy one, but definitely historical feeling.
It was Shadow of a Dark Queen I was thinking of, not Tear of the Gods, sorry. The girl's name was Rosalyn and the book follows Erik, a 15 year old boy that becomes a mercenary in the war that follows, I think to avenge her as it was understood they would have married when they were older. I'm almost positive I remember the 'seed' part, as well - would have happened around chapter 3 or 4. Also, it's set in another world, but has a historical feel because there is no technology, men ride horseback and have armor and swords, etc.
I read the Kindle preview for Shadow Of a Dark Queen, and I really don't think that's it. It doesn't feel familiar at all, not the setting nor the characters or the cover. But, again, the only scene I remember clearly is that rape because it stuck so clearly in my mind. I'd have to read the scene in a Dark Queen to be sure.
Nope, I read the scene in "Shadow of a Dark Queen" and it's definitely not that one either. In SoaDQ, it seems our protagonists interrupt an ongoing rape and kill the rapist.....not at all like the scene I remember, where the rapist seemed like he was taking his time because the woman was unconscious/dead and they were alone.
I just came back to this thread to say I found my copy and the scene is wrong, lol. This is going to drive me nuts now...I know I've read something similar.
The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by A.N. RoquelaureI remember him being in furs, she is of course unconscious, it does say "seed" and because of the sleeping beauty I can see why they'd think it a children's book.
God! That book really made 50 shades of grey look like a sesame street.
No, I don't think it was that one, because I HAVE read The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty as an adult, and I didn't have an "Oh yeah, THIS book" moment. *Reads the first pages on Amazon just to make sure* Yep, it does use the word "seed", but doesn't say he was wiping it off her thighs, which is what stuck in my mind the most. I also think the librarian would have been able to figure out from reading the back cover of that book that it wouldn't be suitable for middle schoolers. The covers of most editions even say that they're erotica.
Could it have been something by Jean Auel? I read The Clan of the Cave Bear when I was a preteen, and the rape scenes horrified me. It's not the first book, but maybe something later in the series. It is prehistory, so they would have been wearing furs.
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Nope, never found it. I'm not crushed....It's more curiosity about what on earth my middle school librarian let me read rather than a desire to actually read a book that opens like this.
Maybe Strands of Starlight by Gael Baudino?The main character is raped by someone she heals fairly early in in the book and left for dead. (Been way too long for me to remember the other details you talk about.) It's fantasy book, set in a medieval culture, so that may be why it might have been thought to be ok for kids on the surface.
ETA: it's a little earlier than you mention, but it's sequels came out 93/94 so maybe it was reissued for those?
The King's Peace by Jo Walton opens with a rape, but it's the rape of the first person narrator, so doesn't match in other ways.
Nope, it's not The King's Peace. Thanks though.
Helena wrote: "Beloved? That has a rape scene early on"Nope, definitely not. It wasn't just that there was a rape in the beginning. The scene itself was very specific.
The Baker's BoyVery early on some wizard goes into the Queen's chambers and rapes her while she's unconscious. There definitely is mention of his 'seed', and wiping off her thighs, although it's blood he wipes off. Pretty graphic.
Simi wrote: "The Baker's BoyVery early on some wizard goes into the Queen's chambers and rapes her while she's unconscious. There definitely is mention of his 'seed', and wiping off her thighs, al..."
Hm, that MIGHT be it. The cover doesn't look at all familiar, though the scene was definitely similar to what I remember. That "seed" was definitely a keyword that stuck in my mind, but wiping blood of her thighs could be an easy memory mistake. I can definitely imagine. The title also seems like the kind of book that a middle school librarian might accidentally buy, thinking it was a YA fantasy. Also published around the right time...
I'm going to mark this as "possibly solved" since all of the key point match up, even if the cover/title/author/characters don't seem at all familiar.
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https://books.google.com/books?id=yl3... There are different cover images.
I bet this is it! The cover even makes it look appropriate for middle schoolers.
Kris, I read the excerpt already. the specific rapey details seem to fit, though nothing about the story seem familiar. BUT it was a long time ago, and really only a couple of key point stuck in my mind. Very possible that this was it. My only caveat is that I still feel like there was something wintery about the book/scene/cover.
Amanda wrote: "Maybe Strands of Starlight by Gael Baudino?The main character is raped by someone she heals fairly early in in the book and left for dead. (Been way too long for me to remember the o..."
This book was what popped up in my mind when reading the description (*shudder*). I read it for a book club and all of us except the person who picked it absolutely HATED it. (To be fair to that one person, I think she’d read it years before and then didn’t re-read it with us, so I don’t think she really remembered all of the details we objected to. And I think she mostly just wanted us to read the sequels with her—which were supposedly better—but we were all too traumatized.)
I didn’t see if the original poster saw this, though, so maybe a new comment will bump it a little?
Juliet wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Maybe Strands of Starlight by Gael Baudino?The main character is raped by someone she heals fairly early in in the book and left for dead. (Been way too long for me to..."
I've requested "Strands of Starlight" through the library so I can read the beginning and see if it's the right one. Seems too old, but worth investigating.
Jamie wrote: "Juliet wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Maybe Strands of Starlight by Gael Baudino?The main character is raped by someone she heals fairly early in in the book and left for dead. (Been way too..."
I’m so sorry; I saw the year you read it but I was distracted by remembering Strands of Starlight and didn’t process that you thought it was newly published. Not likely this one, then. Good luck on your quest!
My mind immediately went to The Bloody Chamber by Anglea Carter? Specifically the twisted retelling of I think Snow White, where, if I remember right, a King finds a dead woman (she may be unconscious but im sure the creepiness of the fact she was dead was discussed in class) in the snow, thinks shes beautiful and takes it upon himself to rape her. When the queen discovers what he has done, I'm pretty sure it's revealed she is a witch of some kind and curses him as punishment for his actions.I'm not saying it is definitely this but I think I loosely remember this happening towards the beginning of the book.
However this was also published 1979, and it's a collection of short stories, rather than a continuous novel, so possibly not? This book was given to me for coursework when I was 14/15, so it may fit your age range - I'm not entirely familiar with what age middle school runs from
Hmm, thanks Kels, but I know it's not The Bloody Chamber because I've read that one recently. Definitely creepy though!
Try Bold Angel by Kat Martin. It sounds similar but was published in 1994. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
Samantha wrote: "Try Bold Angel by Kat Martin. It sounds similar but was published in 1994. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5..."I read the preview of that one....Yeesh, there's a lot of rape and mentions of thighs, for sure, but no scene in the preview is the one I remember.
@Jame, if you haven't found the book yet is it possible that it's Deerskin by Robin McKinley? It's a medieval/historical fantasy and there's a rape early on in the book (can't remember if it was in the first or second chapter, but it was at least in the first 1/4 of the book) and it's by an author commonly read by middle school students. It was also published in the 90s, and there is a definite winter atmosphere with snow and furs. She's basically left for dead after the rape because of the extent of her injuries. I don't remember if the word "seed" appeared but I do remember blood running down her thighs. Here is the original hardcover edition, alongside the updated edition I read:
Irene wrote: "@Jame, if you haven't found the book yet is it possible that it's Deerskin by Robin McKinley? It's a medieval/historical fantasy and there's a rape early on in the book (can't remem..."Thanks, but it's not that one either. I own a copy, but haven't read it since high school. I doubled checked anyway, and while some parts match...it's not it. The rape scene in Deerskin is about 80 pages in, and doesn't include "seed". The latter is the detail that sticks in my mind the most, because as a middle schooler it made me think that semen must contained visible "seeds", like runny tapioca pudding or something. Gross....
Huh, I could have sworn it was in the first 1/4 of the book. My bad!
Juliet wrote: "Jamie wrote: "Juliet wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Maybe Strands of Starlight by Gael Baudino?The main character is raped by someone she heals fairly early in in the book and left for dead...."
So I got "Strands of Starlight" in from the library, and that's not it either. The rape scene in Starlight is from the woman's point-of-view, and in the scene I remember it was from the man's point-of-view (the woman was either unconscious or dead by the end of it).
maybe look at this book.Captives of Time by Malcolm Bosse
Reegin wrote: "maybe look at this book.Captives of Time by Malcolm Bosse"
I don't think it's this one. I'm pretty confident that opening scene that I remember is from the POV (either first or third person) of the man.
I had nearly the same experience in middle school with a book that seems to match this description. I finished reading the book, but it was very memorable because it was the first book I'd ever read with a sex scene and it was rape. So not great. Later I remember trying to find the book and not being sure. All I could remember was that scene, specifically the wiping off of "seed" and maybe the main character burning something in the fire directly after? Somehow she ends up in the forest eventually and not married to the rapist (possibly because he died or was murdered). I also remember the title containing the word "forest" but it wasn't Daughter of the Forest, since I read that much later as an adult. Eventually from some descriptions online and on Goodreads I decided that it was most likely The Star in the Forest by Martha Bennett Stiles. I haven't been able to get my hands on a copy to verify though.
Hannah, here's a list of libraries that have the book you're looking for. Your own library may be able to do an OCLC request for you to get a copy....or you may be able to just call one of those libraries and ask someone to just go look on the book and confirm the scene for you. https://search.worldcat.org/title/459...
Hannah wrote: "...Eventually from some descriptions online and on Goodreads I decided that it was most likely The Star in the Forest by Martha Bennett Stiles...."The star in the forest: A mystery of the Dark Ages is available on archive.org: https://archive.org/details/starinfor... I had a look and the first scene doesn't seem to match.
Ooh thanks! I just looked on archive.org. The scene is there around page 40. It matches my memory, so it is the book I read in middle school, but there are inconsistencies with Jamie's memory of the view point and the woman being unconscious afterwards. So perhaps not the right book after all.
Hannah wrote: "Ooh thanks! I just looked on archive.org. The scene is there around page 40. It matches my memory, so it is the book I read in middle school, but there are inconsistencies with Jamie's memory of th..."I just looked at Archive.org as a well, and nope this is not the scene I remember.
What's the Name of That Book???
Books mentioned in this topic
The Baker's Boy (other topics)The Star in the Forest: A Mystery of the Dark Ages (other topics)
Strands of Starlight (other topics)
Deerskin (other topics)
Deerskin (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
J.V. Jones (other topics)A.N. Roquelaure (other topics)
Raymond E. Feist (other topics)
All I remember was that it was a historical book, possibly a fantasy, that opened up with (or included in the first chapter or two) a scene of a man raping a woman who I THINK might have died just before or while he was raping her. Or else she was just unconscious. Not sure. What sticks in my mind was that the book described him wiping his "seed" off of her thighs. That's literally as far as I got before I said, "Ew" and gave it back.
I also have a vague impression of winter? Like maybe there was a snowy scene on the cover, or the rape scene took place in winter? He may have been wearing furs?
I'd guess that this book was probably published between 1999-2001 because that was about the time I was in middle school, and I do think this was newly published book at the time.
I know it was hardcover, so it wasn't some kind of mass market fantasy or romance.
That scene stuck so vividly in my mind all these years that now I'm curious to know what that book was (though I'm not sure if I'd even want to read it now).