Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!

Schlitz, L. A. (2007). Good masters, sweet ladies Boston, MA:  Candlewick Press. This collection of testimonies and monologues give a glimpse of villager’s lives during medieval times. They portray the villagers’ religious beliefs, economic status, and individual personalities. Will, the plowboy, worked the land, but couldn’t understand why the land was able to rest, but he couldn’t.  The reader may feel moved by the story of the hare his father brought home, for they were very excited about being able to eat meat, even though he risked being hanged.  Among the different characters, the reader may feel sympathy for Taggot, the blacksmith’s daughter. She feels ugly and fat. Her parents fear she will never marry. Still today, we see self-esteem issues and how it affects women who have not married. This book is filled with stories of adversity that people may still face today. Shlitz does a phenomenal job painting a picture in the reader’s mind of each of the 23 characters’ lives and challenges by using lyrical language, adding footnotes, and by providing the reader with background information or facts that can help him appreciate and understand medieval times.