Alchemy and Meggy Swann

By Karen Cushman

Meggy arrives in London expecting to be welcomed by her father, who sent for her, but he doesn't want her to assist in his laboratory when he sees that not only is she female, she needs two sticks to walk. Sent on trivial errands, she learns to navigate the city, which is earthy and colorful as well as dirty, noisy, and filled with rogues and thieves. Meanwhile she is befriended by the alchemist's former assistant, and when it appears that her father may be arrested and beheaded for practicing magic, together she and her new friend devise a plan to save him. Building strength and street smarts, Meggy goes from helpless to confident and from friendless to surrounded by warmth and love. Elizabethan London has its dark side, but it also has much to offer Meggy Swann.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 26, 2010
• ISBN: 9780547487410

Karen Cushman

Karen Cushman's acclaimed historical novels include Catherine, Called Birdy, a Newbery Honor winner, and The Midwife's Apprentice, which received the Newbery Medal. She lives on Vashon Island in Washington State. Visit her online at karencushman.com and on Twitter @cushmanbooks.

Book preview

Copyright © 2010 by Karen Cushman

Introduction copyright © 2020 by Gary D. Schmidt

All rights reserved. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to [e-mail] or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

Clarion Books is an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

hmhbooks.com

Cover illustration © 2020 by Maria Ukhova

Cover design by Celeste Knudsen

The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:

Cushman, Karen.

Alchemy and Meggy Swann / by Karen Cushman.

p. cm.

Summary: In 1573, the crippled, scorned, and destitute Meggy Swann goes to London, where she meets her father, an impoverished alchemist, and eventually discovers that although her legs are bent and weak, she has many other strengths.

[1. People with disabilities—Fiction. 2. Alchemy—Fiction. 3. Poverty—Fiction. 4. Fathers and daughters—Fiction. 5. London (England)—History—16th century—Fiction. 6. Great Britain—History—Elizabeth, 1558–1603—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.C962A1 2010

[Fic]—dc22

2009016387

ISBN 978-0-547-23184-6 hardcover

ISBN 978-0-358-09749-5 paperback

eISBN 978-0-547-48741-0

v3.1120

For Leah,

for her gentle courage

and her tender heart

The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances; if there is any reaction, both are transformed.

—Carl Jung

Introduction

by Gary D. Schmidt

I had two strong and powerful women as my grandmothers. Ella, my father’s mother, was the first woman to cast a vote in Queens County, New York. She got her driver’s license before most people had ever seen a car, and she drove a Model T up to Montreal with three of her children by herself. She was one of the best stickball players I’ve ever seen, and though she lived into her nineties, her hair never turned gray.

My mother’s mother, Gertrude, came from wealth. Her family owned a factory in Massachusetts, and before the Great Depression hit they had property on Webster Lake and an airplane—no kidding. She was determined to earn her own living, though, and she went to nursing school and became a surgical nurse. With her first paycheck she bought a canoe because she had always wanted one. She was a good and capable nurse, proud of the way she could anticipate the instruments the doctor who became her husband required; she liked to show me how she would slap the forceps or scissors into his hand. So I wasn’t at all surprised that when she was in her eighties, long retired, a hospital on Long Island asked her to come back to work. They needed her, they explained.

My powerful grandmothers would have loved Karen Cushman’s Meggy Swann; they would have loved her stubborn determination, her defiance of expectations, her surprising strength, and, in the end, her deep and loving kindness.

When Meggy Swann first comes to London, where she finds such noise that made [her] head, accustomed to the gentle stillness of a country village, ache, she is forced by circumstance into accepting her new place on Crooked Lane. This is, after all, where her father lives, and he has sent for her. But once she sets foot on Crooked Lane, she is stepping into a world in which she is almost completely powerless, and in which everything seems stacked against her.

It is a world where she is dealing with grief, her grandmother—the only person on the planet who loves her—having just died. But this is not her only grief: she comes to understand that the natural love of parents for their child is, for her, completely overthrown. Her mother wants to abandon her, and her father wants her to be his servant. Meggy is holding on to the country world she knows when she carries Louise the goose with her to London, but even this friend she must give up as she tries to adjust to a crowded and dirty and demeaning and even dangerous city. And in this whirling world that threatens her so severely, Meggy is given not safety and security—and not even much food; instead, she must navigate the needs of others—both those with whom she lives on Crooked Lane, and those whom she hardly knows at all.

And most difficult of all, Meggy Swann must find ways to accept the disability that causes her to limp so terribly and that leads others to mock and condemn her: ‘Beware the ugglesome crookleg, the foul-featured cripple, the fearful, misshapen creature . . . marked by the Devil himself.’ It is this disability that has defined her—and that she has allowed to define her, living her life in anticipation of hatred and disdain. People do not favor me . . . nor I them, she thinks. It is her credo, and the reason she holds on so carefully to her goose, who is herself crippled.

Meggy quickly realizes that in the medieval world in which she dwells, women have no power, no authority, no voice at all. London isn’t just a place of discomfort; it is a place where she could disappear—and indeed, there are moments when she is tempted to give in to a despair that would lead to disappearance. So much has been taken from her; she does not even have the benefit of a healthy body to cope with her culture’s indifference and enmity.

But Meggy does have what so many of Karen Cushman’s characters have: guts. She is determined to survive, and she does so in a most unexpected way: she cracks that steel that armors her and begins to respond to others with attention and kindness. She learns how to do this by becoming a friend—something she has had little practice in doing.

In the end, Meggy Swann survives because she becomes more and more herself. Meggy is indeed a swan, and she grows into a beautiful soul that looks at the world with eyes that see possibilities, and the beauty of art, and the beauty of others. By the end, she has grown so that she can forgive her father and mother their unforgivable slights, and so that she can take her place in the company of others who, despite their poverty, show the same grace toward others that she has learned and now exercises.

And thus the title. At first, we think that this is a book about Meggy and her connections to her alchemist father. She tries to understand the purity that he is striving for through his alchemy, but comes to understand that he is searching for something that does not exist, and is ruining himself and all he touches in his search.

There is real alchemy in this novel, but it is not about turning base metals into gold. It is about turning a soul from anger and fear and helplessness to gentleness, empathy, kindness, friendship, and love. Now that’s alchemy. Meggy Swann, a powerful young woman who is determined not to allow her world to shape and define her into oblivion, becomes gold. In the end, this is the strong message that Karen Cushman’s novels send to her readers: Understand and accept yourself, no matter what a culture might say of you. Use your strength as a way of changing that culture. Live a generous life out of a full heart. Always be growing and changing into your best self—and show others how to come along with you.

My grandmothers could not have said it better.

1573

After the accession of Elizabeth I

to the throne of England

but afore London’s first theater

and Shakespeare

One

Ye toads and vipers, the girl said, as her granny often had, ye toads and vipers, and she snuffled a great snuffle that echoed in the empty room. She was alone in the strange, dark, cold, skinny house. The carter who had trundled her to London between baskets of cabbages and sacks of flour had gone home to his porridge and his beer. The flop-haired boy in the brown doublet who had shown her a straw-stuffed pallet to sleep on had left for his own lodgings. And the tall, peevish-looking man who had called her to London but did not want her had wrapped his disappointment around him like a cloak and disappeared up the dark stairway, fie upon him!

Fie upon them all!

She was alone, with no one to sustain and support her. Not even Louise, her true and only friend, who had fallen asleep in the back of the cart and been overlooked. Belike Louise was on her way back out of the town with the carter, leaving the girl here frightened and hungry and alone. Ye toads and vipers, what was she to do? She sat shivering on a stool as unsteady as her humor, and tears left shining tracks like spider threads on her cheeks.

Her name was Margret Swann, but her gran had called her Meggy, and she was newly arrived from Millford village, a day’s ride away. The bit of London she had seen was all soot and slime, noise and stink, and its streets were narrow and dark. Now she was imprisoned in this strange little house on Crooked Lane. Crooked Lane. How the carter had laughed when he learned their destination.

Darkness comes late in high summer, but come it does. Meggy could see little of the room she sat in. Was there food here? A cooking pot? Wood for a fire? Would the peevish-looking man—Master Peevish, she decided to call him—would he come down and give her a better welcome?

Startled by a sudden banging at the door and in truth a bit fearful, Meggy stood up quickly, grabbed her walking sticks, and made her way into the farthest corner of the room. She moved in a sort of clumsy jig: reach one stick ahead, swing leg wide and drag it forward, move other stick ahead, swing other leg wide and drag it forward, over and over again, stick, swing, drag, stick, swing, drag. Her legs did not sit right in her hips—she had been born so—and as a result she walked with this awkward swinging gait. Wabbling, Meggy called it, and it did get her from one place to another, albeit slowly and with not a little bit of pain.

The banging came again, and then the door swung open and slammed against the wall, revealing the carter who had fetched her to London.

He was not gone! Meggy’s spirits rose like yeasty bread, and she wabbled toward the doorway. Well met, carter, she said. I wish to go home.

I were paid sixpence to bring you hither, he said. Have you another six for the ride back?

Nay, but my mother—

He shook his head. Your mother was right pleased to see the back of you. He turned, took two steps, and lifted something from the bed of the wagon. Something that wriggled and hissed. Something that leapt from his arms. Something that showed itself to be a large white goose, her wings spread out like an angel’s as she made her waddling way over to the girl. Louise. Meggy’s goose and friend.

Meggy exhaled in relief and gladness. She bent down and looked into the goose’s deep black eyes. Pray be not angry with me, Louise. In all the hurly-burly of arriving, I grew forgetful. Louise honked loudly and shook herself with such a shake that there was a snowfall of feathers.

When Meggy stood up again, the carter and the wagon had gone. Her eyes filled, but her hands held tightly to her walking sticks, so she could not dash the tears away. They felt sticky on her lips, and salty.

She sat down on the stool again and put one arm around the goose, who stretched her neck and placed her head on Meggy’s lap. You may observe, goosie, the girl said, stroking the soft, white head, that I be most lumpish, dampnified, and right bestraught. This London is a horrid place, and I know not what will befall us here.

Meggy and Louise rocked for a moment, and Meggy softly sang a misery song she had learned from her gran. I wail in woe, I plunge in pain, with sorrowing eyes I do complain, she sang, but the sound of her trembly voice in the empty room was so mournful that she stopped and sat silent while darkness grew.

Meggy and the carter had arrived in London earlier that day while the summer evening was yet light. Even so, the streets were gloomy, with tall houses looming on either side, rank with the smell of fish and the sewage in the gutter, slippery with horse droppings, clamorous with church bells and the clatter of cart wheels rumbling on cobbles. London was a gallimaufry of people and carts, horses and coaches, dogs and pigs, and such noise that made Meggy’s head, accustomed to the gentle stillness of a country village, ache.

Good even’, mistress, the carter had called to a hairy-chinned woman with a tray of fish hanging from her neck. Know you where we might find the house at the Sign of the Sun?

I cannot seem to recall, the fishwife said, but belike I’d remember if my palm were crossed with a penny. She stuck out a hand, knobby and begrimed. The carter frowned and grunted but finally took a penny from the purse tied at his waist and flicked it at her.

She plucked it from the air and flashed a gummy smile. Up Fish Street Hill but a little ways is Crooked Lane, she said. You will see the Sign of the Sun six or more houses up the lane.

Crooked Lane. Meggy had pulled her skirts tighter around her legs, and the carter had laughed.

As the fishwife had said, six houses up Crooked Lane, below a faded sign of, indeed, the sun, was the narrowest house Meggy had ever seen, hardly wider than a middling-tall man lying edge to edge, and three stories high. Its timbers were black with age, and the yellow plaster faded to a soft cream.

Reviews for Alchemy and Meggy Swann

[jennybeast · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Oh, this book is full of things I enjoy -- Elizabethan setting, excellent insults, early printing, broadside ballads. Add in a cross and plucky young heroine and a cheerful house of players, and it's just jam-packed with great things.

[mutantpudding · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not my favorite of Cushmans historical books...its fine just wasnt as interested.

[robertalea-223265 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked this story, but, I can say, I've every one of Karen Cushman's books.

[ashleytylerjohn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Liked it, but not quite as much as some of her others. I didn't feel the same sense of narrative urgency.

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).

[melydia_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A crippled girl is sent to live with her alchemist father in medieval London. After spending her life as a pariah, branded a witch and blamed for her handicap by superstitious neighbors, she has developed quite a sharp tongue and independent spirit. Her father is mostly indifferent, but she befriends his previous assistant, a boy who leaves shortly after her arrival to join a theater troupe. Like the other Cushman books I've read, this has been thoroughly researched and delights in sharing the tiny details of daily life in those days that are so different from today. The story is charming on its own, but the afterword explaining some historical notes and liberties taken is the icing on top. This may be young adult fiction, but it sure was fun to read as a not-so-young adult.

[breton07 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

ALCHEMY AND MEGGY SWANN is a poetic masterpiece. Karen Cushman has written an intriguing and historically accurate story about a disabled girl living in Elizabethan London. The daughter of an alchemist, she wrestles with the dilemmas and major questions of her era. Where does the ethics of science begin? Meggy also meets a number of players who will be important in her life; A family of actors, a printmaker, and villain. I was awestruck with the sensitivity and understanding the author has, looking back at an era where the disabled were unappreciated and not respected. I highly recommend this book to children around 8-10, who are interested in history and the perspective of the disabled in an austere time before caring communities.The world has become a greater place since then.-Breton W Kaiser Taylor

[mabith_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've been reading Cushman's books since I was nine or ten and received Catherine, Called Birdy as my Scholastic book of the month. She's not a hugely prolific author, so I just check every few years for new books. However much I love Cushman's books I might have hesitated if I'd read the description of this one and realized it was about a physically disabled girl, as disability is often handled very poorly, particularly in historical settings. (I'm disabled myself.)Cushman soon erased all of my doubts. She was so smart in how she went about writing this. First, she chose a real condition and researched it - hip dysplasia, which can be corrected without too much trouble, but if left means the legs don't develop in the usual way and the person is left crippled and in pain. This often results from a certain type of breech birth, and of course couldn't be corrected in the early Elizabethan period when this book is set. Cushman's choice to allow Meggy to be angry, at other people, not at herself or necessarily because of her disability, was equally wondrous. In fiction, there are two prominent disabled tropes - the Pollyanna and the bitter cripple. We are rarely allowed to be outspoken and angry and grouchy and be a protagonist. Meggy's disability impacts how she goes about things but it has little to nothing to do with the main plot of the book. Third, Cushman lets Meggy sometimes use typical historical perceptions of disability as a result of curses or demonic possession to her own advantage when trying to get people to leave her alone (I say historical, but the Catholic church still wasn't accepting men with epilepsy into the priesthood in the 1960s due to the old 'demonic possession' explanation). After Meggy's grandmother dies, her mother sends her to London to live with her father, who she doesn't know. He's an alchemist and takes little notice of her, never even using her name. As she learns the streets and makes herself useful running errands, she befriends a variety of people. Soon she overhears men buying poison from her father with the intent of killing an Earl. She's shocked and tries to talk her father out of it, but soon must find a way to foil the plot herself.I really loved this book, and I'm so relieved and pleased that Cushman took this representation seriously. My love for her remains undiminished.

[yona-414000 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great character. Great ending. I've loved all of Karen Cushman's characters. Birdy is still my favorite though.

[librarian1204 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really good historical fiction that will satisfy readers of that genre. I liked the good discussion that could come from a handicapped character. Keeps you reading and the author's note is an added bonus.

[lindap69 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

liked this well enough because I really like historical fiction and Karen Cushman - but not as awed by the story as I was with her earlier works

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Brilliant historical fiction.

[jenj5 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Listened to audio narrated by Katherine Kellgren. While this is definitely not my favorite Cushman, Kellgren's narrative carries the audio edition admirably. I enjoyed the depiction of how someone with a physical disability might have survived in medieval England, but I did think Cushman tackled a few too many subplots. I particularly enjoyed the bardic songs as well.

[scote23 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Karen Cushman is one of my favorite authors. I loved Catherine Called Birdy and The Midwife's Apprentice. This book was not quite as good as those. The language caused me to read slower. I also didn't like Meggy Swann as much as I liked Catherine. I did like the depiction of how someone with a disability might be treated before we really understood illnesses, and I could still see some parallels to today's world. Still worth a read, although not an extraordinary book.

[claireforhan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a historical piece of fiction about a girl named Meggy who has a walking disability, and gets sent away by her mother because she doesn't want to take care of her anymore. However, the father she is sent to live with doesn't want her either because she is of no use to him. Her father is an alchemist, trying to turn metal into gold, and is very poor. A majority of the book is spent developing Meggy's difficult life, feeling abandoned, dealing with her disability and trying to make friends. I felt that the majority of the plot happened in the last couple chapters when Meggy finds out her father is involved in a murderous plot, and she tries to warn the victim. In the end, Meggy's warning prevents the murder, but her father leaves her, so she has to go find somewhere else to stay.Honestly, this book wasn't for me. The author writes in old English, so it was very hard to understand a lot of things, and read fluidly. This book was part of a middle school reading program, but I do not think any middle schooler would find this book entertaining. I found the writing difficult and the plot pretty boring.

[sjkessel · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Cushman, K. (2010). Alchemy and Meggy Swann. New York: Clarion Books.Hark! Mistress Cushman, you are a luminous scribe, a queen who is greatly skilled at abracadra to summon your reader across ages back into the days of....That's enough of making your eyes suffer and bleed by me writing super ol' school. What was I trying to say there? Cushman is AMAZING at allowing her readers to enter into the past. Cushman uses historical vocabulary, tries to maintain the authentic voice of her characters and the keeps the worldview of the 1500s and still manages to make her books interesting and relatable.Appetizer: Meggy Swann has just arrived in London to live with her father. Her mother didn't want her. And it would seem her father would have preferred a boy who could serve him instead of a girl who felt pain with every step.As Meggy adjusts to life in London and struggles to get around on her crutches to find food for herself and her goose, Louise, her father hides himself away in his workroom, trying to transform metal into gold and find the elixir for immortality.When Meggie stumbles upon the fact that her father may be connected to a plot to assassinate a noble person, readers can reflect on what they would do if they were in Meggie's position, facing her difficult choice.The fact that Meggie is sent to be raised by a single-parent is a modern parallel that a lot of readers could relate to. Plus, the fact that Meggie had to deal with bilateral hip dysplasia can begin a lot of great conversations about the history of medicine and the way that people with disability have been discriminated against in the past (and now!). Also, since Cushman's Author's Note does a great job of exploring how the study of alchemy would lead the way toward scientific inquiry and the study of chemistry. I'd actually consider pairing Alchemy and Meggy Swann with the first Harry Potter book to compare both the fantasy and history of alchemy.To go a Language Arts direction, I'd also use the book to study ballads and have my students write their own.I enjoyed the book. As I attempted to say in my bad Elizabethan English, I was very impressed by the way Cushman managed to draw me into the story. For the past several months, I'd felt like I'd lost my ability to engage with historical novels, but this book proved that not all hope was lost.I really liked Meggy's struggle to try to understand her father and to try to know how to reveal the assassination plot without putting someone she cares about at risk.BTW, "Ye toads and vipers" will now be a regular part of my vocabulary. I also plan to start calling annoying people Master or Mistress Peevish. You should be prepared for me to say these things to you, World.Dinner Conversation:"Ye toads and vipers," the girl said, as her granny often had, "ye toads and vipers," and she snuffled a great snuffles that echoed in the empty room" (p. 1)."Her name was Margret Swann, but her gran had called her Meggy, and she was newly arrived from Millford village, a day's ride away. The bit of London she had seen was all soot and slime, noise and stink, and its streets were narrow and dark. Now she was imprisoned in this strange little house on Crooked Lane. Crooked Lane. How the carter had laughed when he learned their destination" (p. 2)."I do not allow beggars at my house" was the first thing he said to her. "Begone and clear my doorstep.""Pray pardon, sir, we are not beggars," the carter had told him. "If you be Master Ambrose this be your daughter, come at your bidding" (p. 7)."Just what does he do in the rooms upstairs?He searches for the aqua vitae, the elixir of life that can rid substances of their impurities and make all things perfect." Roger took another bite of bread. "Transformation, he says it is, changing things in their essence.""And that will turn metal into gold?"Roger nodded.You have seen him do it?" Meggy asked."Nay, he still has not the method, although he swears he is close to finding it" (p. 20).Tasty Rating: !!!

[whisper1_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a delightful tale of Meggy Swann, a young girl hobbled by the birth defect of what would now be diagnosed as hip dyplasia. She fends for herself in un merry ole England during Elizabethan days. Those with deformities were looked upon as freaks marked by the devil.It is obvious that the author researched the time period. Cushman is a Newbery honor and medal winner for good reason.While the tale may seem gloomy, truly it is a story of the resiliency of the human spirit and the ability to overcome obstacles. Deemed illegitimate and unfit, Meggy's mother ships her from the countryside to live with her biological father in London. Witnessing the sights of England is a true eye opener for Meggy. Her father, an alchemist does not want her and thus she is twice rejected.Strong and brave, Meggy finds friends who are part of a traveling theater during pre-Shakespeare days.

[abbylibrarian_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When Meggy Swann, a disabled girl in Elizabethan England, is sent to live with her father, she doesn't expect the cold, distant man who greets her. He's absorbed in his alchemy work and Meggy must prove herself useful. At this time, many people thought disabilities were caused by curses or demons and Meggy is taunted on the streets as she tries to go about her business. But Meggy's indomitable spirit shines through and she approaches all challenges with a sense of humor. Meggy's a wonderful strong character and Karen Cushman includes details about the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells that bring Elizabethan England to life. Of course, narrator Katherine Kellgren does a fantastic job and this book was a true pleasure to listen to.

[bplma_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"Ye toads and vipers," the girl said, as her granny often had, "ye toads and vipers," and she snuffled a great snuffle that echoed in the empty room." It is 16th Century Elizabethan London and 13 year old Meggy Swann, with her deformed legs and walking sticks, has just arrived from the country to live with the cold and distant father she has never met. But once this father, the odd and unfriendly Alchemist, realizes she is both deformed and female, Meggy is left to fend for herself-- virtually and then literally abandoned-- her only friend the equally bad tempered goose named Louise. But Karen Cushman's hallmark is the strong female character and Meggy is at the top of the list. She makes her way-- finding friends and allies and creating a life for herself that is both positive and believable within her historic context. I love Cushman-- for her strong female characters, clever and likable as well as for the beautiful and luscious language she employs to carry us away. Great for girls and anglophiles and lovers of Shakespearean insults.

[knicke_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved that the main character transitions from a self-image of helplessness to one of empowerment, while still remaining relatively realistic in terms of the historical context. Really, my only quibble with this book is that it's too short. I'm all for brevity in children's fiction, but I feel like there was a lot more to explore here, and parts just felt...glossed over.

[dk_phoenix_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a short, sweet tale (albeit rather dark at times) about a young girl in 16th-century London. She is deformed from birth and needs crutches to walk, and when her previously absent father sends for her from London, he's shocked to discover she's not a boy who can help him with running errands for his work. Poor Meggy is cursed at, spat upon, and reviled by many who believe that cripples are agents of the Devil -- a belief that was prevalent up until the 16th century, when opinions finally began to change. Meggy meets many interesting and colorful characters thoughout the course of the story -- including a young boy named Roger, who she frequently trades insults with -- and both the description of the setting and the language of the characters creates a very vivid picture of Meggy's world at the time.I enjoyed the book and found Meggy to be an intriguing young character who deals with her hardships remarkably well, but at the same time, I was a little surprised at the amount of hardship the author put her through, especially considering the target age for the book. I commend the author for retaining a sense of realism, but I think even the language would be a bit challenging for some younger readers.On the whole, I wouldn't say it's my favorite Cushman novel thus far, but it's a good addition to her series of books about strong, young females. Certainly a worthwhile read.

[rosemarion · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The year is 1573 in England. Queen Elizabeth I is the reigning queen, and Meggy Swann is an adolescent girl who has been sent by her cruel mother to live with the father she has never known in filthy and smelly London. To top it all off, Meggy is crippled and is forced to learn her own way around the vast and unknown city. “Ye toads and vipers!” When Meggy first arrives in London, she is hopeful that her father will care about her and want a relationship with her, but she soon realizes that his true love is himself and his “Great Work.” Indeed, he spends all of his hours locked in a laboratory mixing chemicals trying to change base metals into gold. He is also trying to find the “great elixir of life” or the fountain of youth. His “Great Work” doesn’t pay much, and Meggy is often hungry and cold. Left to fend for herself, Meggy soon learns her way around the streets of London and meets some kind people such as Roger Oldham (an old helper of her father’s), Master Cooper, and Printer Allyn. Printer Allyn prints many ballads which are sold on every street in London proclaiming interesting stories and the news of the day. In time, Meggy’s father does start to talk to her, but mostly so he can have her help in the laboratory. While this isn’t exactly the life Meggy had envisioned for herself, she does her best because her beloved Gran would have wanted her to be positive. One day however, Meggy overhears two men talking to her father about an evil plot to murder a high official in Queen Elizabeth’s court. “Ye toads and vipers!” What will Meggy do? She can’t allow her father to get involved in something so wicked and evil, and yet what can she, a poor and crippled common girl, do to stop such a plot? Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman is absolutely wonderful historical fiction written in the same vein as Ms. Cushman’s other novels which are always about young girls who face adversity and yet find their own way to succeed. Meggy is a great heroine to add to the long list of heroines created by Karen Cushman. If you enjoy historical fiction that is richly researched and detailed, then you will enjoy any of Karen Cushman’s fantastic young adult novels!

[comacalm_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

After Meggy Swann's Grandmother dies, her mother sends her to live with her Father, an Alchemist who has sent for her. Upon arriving in London she finds that her Father doesn't want her - for she is a cripple and a girl, he was expecting a boy. Undeterred, Meggy makes a great many friends in London and slowly learns how to live there. Then she hears that her Father is planning to a Baron and Meggy has to decide what to about it... This book is good but it doesn't stand out. It's a quick story, written as if for children in the Seventies, rather than now. However Karen's writing style is vivid and descriptive and Meggy is an engaging character. The idea of her being a cripple is certainly a unique one and I enjoyed learning how she got around London (slowly). It would be easy to sum this entire story up in one sentence: Meggy Swann moves to London and makes friends. Later on she discovers that her Father is making a potion to kill the Baron. Finally, some action! Eh, not really. The book ends with a happy childish ending with everyone singing and dancing around a table. Yes, really.(Received this free from NetGalley to review)

[herbcat_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A delightful little story (not as believable as Cushman's work usually is, but the characters are believable) about the poor in the Elizabethan age, when theater was just beginning in England. It is also the beginning of science in early experiments by alchemists who at least understood that the nature of a substance can be changed by chemical reaction.

[cablesclasses · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Meggy Swann shares her experiences as a member of the lower class of England during the Elizabethan Era. Brought to her new found father, an alchemist, in London, Meggy learns to deal with her disability and how to make friends in a foreign atmosphere. Insightful historical fiction that introduces beliefs and customs from a time period far too removed from our modern society yet links similar societal problems of both eras.

[prkcs · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In 1573, the crippled, scorned, and destitute Meggy Swann goes to London, where she meets her father, an impoverished alchemist, and eventually discovers that although her legs are bent and weak, she has many other strengths.

[kclaire_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

From the first sentences, through dialect and authentic description, Karen Cushman's newest historical fiction, Alchemy and Meggy Swann, conveys you to 1573. Elizabeth I is on the throne, but Shakespeare has not yet begun his plays. Medieval ideas are beginning to fade, and a new way of thinking and beliefs are starting to take hold. Meggy arrives from the country at her father's impoverished house on Crooked Lane, in London, with her goose Louise, and little else, only to discover that her alchemist father does not welcome her there. Meggy is crippled and uses two sticks to walk. She possesses a quick wit, and a sharp tongue, and uses them to protect herself, and to forge a new life in a crowded and dirty city. Cushman includes a quote by Carl Jung at the beginning of the story : "The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances; if there is any reaction, both are transformed." Meggy the true alchemist in the story both transforms and is transformed through her choices, and the people she meets, during her struggles with life in London. This book includes a map of old London, and an author's note with historical resources. A fast, highly enjoyable read.

[wisterialeigh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Alchemy and Meggy Swannby Karen CushmanClarion Books978-0-547-23184Page Count: 176Ages: 10-15, grade 5-9The year is 1573 when Meggy Swann arrives in London after traveling in a wagon “between baskets of cabbages and sacks of flour.” Her companion and friend is a crippled white goose. And like the goose, Meggy does not walk, she waddles with the aid of two sticks to support her crippled legs. She is raised by her Gran after her mother turned her back on her. Now she is summoned to live with her dad, Master Peevish, an alchemist. An alchemist who makes it quite clear his transformations, his search for gold are paramount. Meggy must find her way alone. With willful determination she carries on, unaided, struggling as she learns to care for herself. She is angry with understandable reasons. She is befriended by a young boy, an actor, smitten by her angelic face. She has a gift of language, crude yet humorous. She can’t help but spit out threats and insults with each searing word. You have to love this impish character Cushman has created. In one tirade Meggy aims her wrath at Roger as she says, “Go then you writhled, beetle-brained knave. You churl, you slug, you stony-hearted villain! May onions grow in your ears.” You can’t help but chuckle as the author makes it so easy to visualize this hot-tempered gammin turning red faced, blowing off steam. If she could, she would probably stomp her foot! The streets of Elizabethan England come alive when you walk them with Meggy Swan, a delightfully quick witted soul on a virtuous mission. Karen Cushman is one of my favorite children’s authors. Of her many works I especially liked, The Midwife’s Apprentice and Catherine, Called Birdy. Both excellent. I highly recommend Alchemy and Meggy Swann for historical fiction bookshelves in classrooms, and libraries. A great read aloud and perfect for literature circles.

[lilibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Meggy's mother sent her to London to live with her father, who is not at all pleased to see this young girl who walks with canes show up on his doorstop. Alone with her disinterested father, she feels she has no friends except her pet goose who she is forced to give up. She is forced to be stronger than she ever thought she could be, and she discovers many neighbors and acquaintances who can be counted as friends.

[_zoe__1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had very fond childhood memories of Catherine, Called Birdy and The Midwife's Apprentice by the same author, so I jumped on the chance to read an e-galley of this one, and I wasn't disappointed.I really enjoyed this book. Meggy Swann was raised by her beloved grandmother in a village outside of London during the reign of Elizabeth I. Her mother has no interest in her, so following her grandmother's death she's sent to live with her alchemist father. But when her father finds out that she's both female and crippled, he says that he has no use for her either. This is the story of Meggy's struggle to find a place for herself in an uncaring world, where people spit on her in the street and call her names because of her disability. She has understandably developed a prickly temperament to shield herself from the insults of others, and has difficulty opening up. I have to admit that I found her personality a bit obnoxious at first, but I did come to love her in the end.On the other hand, I loved the writing from the very beginning. Cushman has a way of making Elizabethan England come to life, so that I was gripped from the very first chapter. Given that I was reading in less-than-ideal conditions on a computer, it would have been easy to put the book down, but I found that the story kept me absorbed throughout.Because I hadn't read any of Cushman's work since I was maybe 11, I was a bit concerned that the story wouldn't have enough depth to hold my interest as an adult. That fear turned out to be entirely unfounded. I do wish the story had been longer only because I enjoyed it so much, but everything was developed and resolved satisfactorily in the short space there was. I'll definitely go back and read Cushman's other books that I missed between The Midwife's Apprentice and here, and I may even buy myself a physical copy of this one when it comes out in paperback.So I was personally completely satisfied with this book, and I think that other adults would like it as well. On the other hand, I've seen some other reviews saying that the language is too difficult for children, but since I read Cushman's other works as a child myself, I'm not convinced that this would be a problem. In fact, I often see people asking for books for children with high reading levels: there's a need for books that aren't too easy, but are still age-appropriate in terms of content. This book fits perfectly in that niche. Plus, it has a positive message that doesn't feel too in-your-face, and there's a section at the end explaining the historical setting, so it has good educational potential.In short, I really think Cushman has a winner here. This is a great book for children and adults.

[maowangvater · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When her beloved granny died, Margaret Swann is informed by her mother that her father has sent for her, and she’s to go live with him in London. Meggy is shocked; she never knew that she had a father. Well, she knew that she must have had a father because everyone has or had one, but never in her thirteen years has her mother mentioned him to her. So she arrives in London with her only friend: her pet goose Louise. Louise has a sprung wing and cannot fly, just as Meggy has crooked legs and cannot walk. Using two walking sticks she can lurch forward from side to side painfully dragging her legs along with her, but she doesn’t call it walking; she calls it “wabbling.”London, when she arrives in 1573, does not impress her. It’s crowded, it’s noisy, it’s filthy, it stinks, and they have dead men’s heads hung on their bridge! “Ye toads and vipers!” she exclaims upon arrival at her father’s house at the Sign of the Sun on Crooked Lane. Insult is added to injury when her father, Master Ambrose the Alchemist expresses his disappointment that she is not a son, wonders aloud if she is a crackbrain, and then walks away from her upstairs into his attic room. The only civil person she meets that day is Roger Oldham, Master Ambrose’s assistant, a boy of about her own age, who is delighted to have just found a new job as a player with a troop of actors. Eventually Roger and Meggy will become friends and verbal sparring partners, but now with Roger leaving and her father—Master Peevish—as she thinks of him, obsessed with finding the secret of immortality, Meggy must find a way to care for herself in this challenging new world.