The Midwife's Apprentice
Study Help
Essay Questions
1. Throughout the novel, the Midwife uses herbal remedies. Using the library or the Internet, research the use of plants for medicines and ailments. Are herbal remedies used today? Make a chart of particular herbs or plants that are used and the ailment they are used for.
2. Choose an incident in the novel that involves Alyce and another character such as Jane, the Midwife, Will, or Edward. Write the scene in first person narrative, from the point of view of the "other" character (Jane, Will, or Edward).
3. Using the library or the Internet, research the Middle Ages. Discover what life was like for young adults living during the thirteenth and fourteenth century.
4. Draw a map of the village and roads leading out of the village. Include landmarks that Cushman mentions in the novel such as the woods and fields, the pond, the castle where Edward goes to live, the Midwife's cottage, and the inn where Alyce goes to work.