Book of Margery Kempe?

[Momling]

My 9 1/2 yr old daughter just finished the "Book of the Maidservant" and was fascinated by Margery Kempe (who I believe she thinks was a "hysterical nutball"). She's asked about the original. I haven't read the Book of Margery Kempe past the first few pages on an amazon preview, but it looks okay. Is it something that a young lover of history could read? She has read some authentic medieval texts (a chapter from Bede, segments from Beowulf, some Chaucer), so I don't think the reading itself should be a problem... But I don't know -- is it particularly interesting? Will it give her some insight into late Medieval life or culture or is it more of a text about her revelations? It's not at our library, so I don't know if I should bother and buy it or not. Thoughts?

[PollyOR]

bump

[Harriet Vane]

I would NOT recommend it for a child that age. There are strong s@xual themes throughout the book. Save it for high school.

[Rosie_0801]

I'd rather clean a public men's bathroom than read that book again. Personally, I found the first chapter terrifying (which your daughter probably wouldn't, seeing how she's never birthed a child,) but I think it more likely to kill her love of history than feed it. If she had her heart set on it, I'd definitely pre-read until I found a suitable passage. An extract would be quite enough. It's horribly repetitious. I don't know what your religious views are, but if I was Christian, I wouldn't let such a young person read it.

 

Rosie