The Istoriaphile’s Corner

There’s a moment in Alan Bennett’s play, The History Boys when an exasperated (female) teacher declares: “History is a commentary on the various and continuing incapabilities of men.  What is history?  History is women following behind…with a bucket.” The Cover  I can’t help but wonder if Jane Hardstaff had this quote in mind when she wrote her excellent children’s novel, The Executioner’s Daughter. It may be fiction, but our heroine is forced to trudge through the disasters of history and scoop up the mess left behind with her basket. Meet Moss, an eleven-year-old girl and permanent resident of The Tower of London. On good days, her father is the blacksmith in the tower, creating and repairing any piece of metal needed for Henry VIII’s court and government and Moss stays in the forge.  On bad days, execution days, her father wields the ax.  If judicial murder and the blood lust of the crowd aren’t bad enough, Moss has be present at each death.  Her job is to stand below the executioner’s block and catch the prisoner’s head in her basket once her father cuts it off. One execution would be enough to traumatize a child but because of the King’s battle…