The Story Of Maude Reed

By Norah Lofts

Book Overview

'I do not want to be a lady. I want to be a wool merchant.'

In the mid-fifteenth century all women, but especially girls like Maude Reed, were subject to the whims and wishes of their parents until they were married. No argument allowed. So Maude, 11-year-old daughter of a gently-born Lady, is sent off to Beauclaire Castle to learn to become a copy of her mother.

She learns courtly manners, needlework, reading and writing and how to deal with the politics of her situation in the castle. More to her taste, though, she makes friends with the boys in the castle, especially Henry Rancon, himself destined to become a knight, and spends what leisure time she has with them while they learn and practise their training in arms.

All that changes, though, when her twin brother Walter arrives to announce that he has left home to become a travelling musician and does not want to follow into the family wool business. Could this be Maude's chance?

Leaving the castle on Christmas Day, Maude heads back to her family home and into a series of adventures...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1915816076
• ISBN13: 9781915816078
• Release Date: May 2024
• Publisher: Tree Of Life Publishing
• Length: 126 Pages
• Weight: 0.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.1" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 13 to 18 years
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Great story

You can save a lot of money by buying "The Town House" instead! "The Maude Reed Tale" is included in that book. The story is incredibly well written! You can see, hear and even smell Medieval England through the characters' senses. I highly recommend all of Norah Loft's "House" books!

The Maude Reed Tale by Norah Lofts

Description from the book back cover: A most unladylike heroine struggles to outwit the system that would have her become a lady. "I do not want to be a lady. I want to be a wool merchant." In those two sentences young Maude Reed expresses her most burning desire. But in fifteenth-century England, girls of good family do not go into business. Instead, they are often sent to live in one of the great castles, where they do needlework, play the lute, and are taught the complicated customs and manners of that age of knighthood. At Beauclaire Castle, Maude meets two people who are to have a lasting influence on her - the beautiful Melusine, who serves Lady Astallon, and Henry Rancon, destined one day for knighthood. Nevertheless, the moment comes when she can face life there no longer, and on Christmas day she mounts her pony, steals over the drawbridge and starts on the long perilous journey home. Then her real adventures begin ...

Terrific historical fiction

A captivating story of how one unconventional medieval maiden uses her unwanted courtly training to pull her family back from the brink and save her grandfather's failing wool business. There's a bit of a "road trip" to this tale, too, as the heroine ventures out with her faithful pony Brownie. Part of what makes this book so appealing is the evocative detailing of food, fashions and pasttimes at the castle and Maude's house. Romance, suspense and adventure are packed into this slim volume, all elegantly understated. Don't be surprised if you get at least a second or third read out of this one.

A great book for young and old.

"I do not want to be a lady I want to be a wool merchant" That line is how I always describe this book. Young Maude wants to be a wool merchant but in medival Europe young girls where sent off to become ladys not merchants. This is a wonderful story I remember reading as a child and cherish it. I hope to find a copy to read to my own children.