Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz

Schlitz, L. A. (2007). Good masters, sweet ladies. Boston, MA: Candlewick Press.

In this book we meet many different characters from all walks of life. Each character has his or her own unique story to tell in the form of a monologue or a dialogue. They give us a glimpse into what life could be like in the 12^th century and how difficult it was to live back then.

The myriad of characters presented in this book ranges from a lowly pilgrim on her way to a healing spring to a nobleman’s son fearing a boar hunt to a lord’s daughter that is confused by the common people’s hatred. The book includes monologues and dialogues that are meant to be performed for an audience. Some of the characters know each other and some do not, but they are all connected by a piece of land. Through the voices of these characters we are able to get a clear picture of how hard times were in medieval Europe.  There seems to be a great variety of characters that almost any reader can find one to connect with. This book will appeal to readers that enjoy seeing a situation from many points of view, and also like to see poetry and rhyme interspersed with historically factual information that adds to the quality of the work.