The Hangman's Daughter

Author:   Oliver Potzsch

One-sentence summary: In 1600s Germany, a town hangman and young physician race to save the life of an innocent midwife accused of witchcraft and sentenced to burn at the stake.  

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating:  7 (unanimous rating)

Our favorite thing about it:  We loved the setting (Germany, medieval) and the pace of the story.

Our least favorite thing about it:  The torture scenes.

Main Topics of Discussion: Medieval times, Superstition, Women/Men, Death & Killing, Ethics, Roles in society, Family heritage, Orphans

Our favorite quote: “I believe that there are evil people. And I don’t care if they are witches or priests.” (p.146)

Notes:  Overall we really enjoyed this book. The mystery and action of the book makes it move at a brisk pace, which is fun to read. We all said that we kept wanting to pick our books up again to find out what happened and how it all worked out.

We loved the unique setting, which was Germany in the 1600s. Right in the middle of medieval superstition and fear of the unknown. The realities of medieval life really set the stage and painted a vivid picture of the conditions of living. And hearing the history and interesting facts about hangmen (an actual “profession” during that time was enlightening. The author descends from a hangman himself so he offers a unique perspective and historical insight.

The characters were interesting and varied. The hangman (Jakob) and Simon (the physician) were the most interesting, but they were also the two main characters. The hangman’s job is to kill people, yet his whole endeavor in the book is to save an accused witch. Simon is a physician in medieval Germany who dresses in the latest fashions and finery and wants to practice a medicine that is a little before it’s time. The devil is well-described, but a bit one-sided. However, we all agreed that this really fit the mood of the story. There were other, more subtle, “evils” that were more “well rounded” and filled out the place of villain in the story.

What we did not really like were the very descriptive torture scenes. None of us really enjoys reading about the ways a person is being tortured or killed. Since the book is about a person who does this for a living, it didn’t really seem gratuitous, but it just wasn’t our favorite thing about this book!

A couple of other things bothered us about the story. First, we felt that what should have been the climax of the story was completely left out. The final and decisive “battle” between the hangman and the devil down in the tunnels was not even written. We see the outcome and are left guessing at what actually happened. With all the build-up of adversity between the two, it seemed cheap to leave this out of the book entirely.

Also, the fact that the book is titled, “The Hangman’s Daughter,” seems strange to us since the daughter is just another character in the book. We did not see any way that she could be considered a major part of the plot. The story was about the hangman.

Memorable Meeting Moments:  We played our annual Jeopardy game (Lindsay won by 1200 points), and did our Christmas book and gift exchanges.

What We Ate:  Goat Cheese and Olive Tapenade Crostini, Angel Hair with Tomato Basil Sauce and Arugula Salad with Lemon Parmesan Dressing. For dessert…hot chocolate bar with mix-ins and dessert bites (Gingerbread Cheesecake Bites, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bites, Mint Truffle Brownie Bites, and Caramel Brownie Bites).