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| Plot Summary of The Hangman's Hymn |
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St. Martin's, Dec 2004, 22.95, 224 pp.
ISBN: 0312300905
Pilgrims journey to Canterbury, but are stopped by Luke Tiverton and his men providing the king's justice by hanging violators of the “King's Peace”. One of the pilgrims, the carpenter, faints at the grim sight. Continuing on their pilgrimage, the travelers stop for the night at St. Bardolph's Priory.
While resting at the priory, the carpenter narrates his tale. Simon Cotterill, the carpenter, follows his beloved to Gloucester where needing work he joins a hangman's crew. In the nearby forest women are vanishing without a trace and a disfigured corpse has been found in the vicinity. Mayor Humphrey assumes that witches are toiling and boiling in the area and quickly has three crones arrested. Trying to keep the panic down and to insure the town continues to flourish, the mayor and his cronies arrange a kangaroo midnight trial to insure a guilty charge. Three days later they are hung in the forest, but the hangmen flee a nasty storm. When they return the witches are gone and they seek revenge. Simon hides while also serendipitously tries to solve who the real killer is.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Hangman's Hymn |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
- middle ages
Kind of investigator
- amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- Prince/Nobleman/King
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- kicks
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 5-7
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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Click here for more information about this book
P.C. Dougherty Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Harriet Klausner
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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