Matilda Bone

Newbery medalist Karen Cushman assembles a cast of unforgettable characters
in a fascinating and pungent setting: the medical quarter of a medieval
English Village. To Blood and Bone Alley, home of leech, baarber-surgeon,
and apothecary, comes Matilda, raised by a priest to be pious and learned,
and now destined to assist Red Peg the Bonesetter. To Matilda's dismay, her
work will not involve Latin or writing, but lighting the fire, going to
market, mixing plasters and poultices, and helping Peg treat patients.
Appalled by her new surroundings, Matilda yearns for the days at the manor
when all she did was study and pray. Lonely and misunderstood, she seems
destined for a fate as tragic as that of any of the sharp-toungued saints
she turns to for advice.

Filled with a witty dialogue, Matilda Bone is a compelling comic novel about
a girl who learns to see herself and others clearly, to laugh, and to live
contentedly in this world.