Hanging Around?

The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch

This was an interesting book.  

Bavaria in the mid 1600's...

A child is found in the river, dead with a mark that could be a "witches symbol."  

The midwife who the children are always visiting is the main suspect... 

More children disappear and trouble abounds for the village.

 

I didn't get really into it until about a third of the way because I had trouble keeping up with all the characters.  Pretty predictable but scary.  A good sociological study of what happens when people go on a witch hunt.   Neighbors turning on friends.  It takes a strong person to stand up to the craziness, and this is the wonderful character of Jakob, the Hangman.  

I didn't know how low hangmen were on the social strata then.  They were required to be the jailer, torture people for confessions, mortician, and hangman yet are basically the untouchable because they do deal with death.  Hangman's children marry other hangmen's children.  Our hangman is also the town healer on the side and an ex-military man who did many things he'd like to forget.   His daughter is a feisty girl who, unfortunately is in love with the town physician's son.

I can't imagine living back in the 1600's.  

Doctors know basically NOTHING.  Healers who do know something about herbs and healing are looked upon with suspicion and often thought to be in league with dark demons.  

Insane times.

Very interesting characters!