The Midwife's Tale

A Mystery

By: Sam Thomas

Narrated by: Leila Birch

In the tradition of Arianna Franklin and C. J. Sansom comes Samuel Thomas’s remarkable debut, The Midwife’s Tale.

It is 1644, and Parliament’s armies have risen against the King and laid siege to the city of York. Even as the city suffers at the rebels’ hands, midwife Bridget Hodgson becomes embroiled in a different sort of rebellion. One of Bridget’s friends, Esther Cooper, has been convicted of murdering her husband and sentenced to be burnt alive. Convinced that her friend is innocent, Bridget sets out to find the real killer.

Bridget joins forces with Martha Hawkins, a servant who’s far more skilled with a knife than any respectable woman ought to be. To save Esther from the stake, they must dodge rebel artillery, confront a murderous figure from Martha’s past, and capture a brutal killer who will stop at nothing to cover his tracks. The investigation takes Bridget and Martha from the homes of the city’s most powerful families to the alleyways of its poorest neighborhoods. As they delve into the life of Esther’s murdered husband, they discover that his ostentatious Puritanism hid a deeply sinister secret life, and that far too often tyranny and treason go hand in hand.

©2012 Samuel Thomas (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

spell binding till the very last

loved it. even second time around. mystery solving midwife is awesome. love her kindness. A strong woman.

Not what i expected for the trials of a midwife

the author did a good job capturing the historical aspects, but time and again the story was too much like a scooby do rerun making it not believable. it could have been better.

Excellent First Novel!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Midwife's Tale to be better than the print version?

I didn't read the print version.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The person)s) who committed the murders was not even suspected until near the end. Kept me guessing.

What does Leila Birch bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The different voices of characters, their moods and feelings.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I had great sympathy with the two main women in the story.

Any additional comments?

Please make the next books by Sam Thomas available in audio as soon as they appear!

Engaging historical fiction...

The Midwife's Tale affords the the reader a wonderful opportunity to step back and see how our ancestors lived, negotiated their world, understood their politics. It allows us to see how they birthed their babies, and raised their families, and practiced their religion.

More importantly, it gives a glimpse into the early struggles for freedom from servitude and the class system, and let's us see the path that brought us to the present.

Wonderful

This was a wonderful story set during the civil war between Charles I and Parliament. Lady Bridgett is a wealthy widow who works as a midwife in York. This allows her access to the whole city. When she sets out to investigate the murder of a friend's husband she finds political undercurrents that she was unaware of and hadn't anticipated. The characters are engaging and composed of not only York's elite but also street urchins. I loved how the mystery investigation progressed and thought the narrator was excellent.