I think that when most kids think about life in this time period, they think of fairy tales, as well as, knights and castles and royalty. Of course, with all of those things comes wealth. Fairy tales do not usually talk about the poor and unfortunate. In The Midwife's Apprentice, the main character, eventually known as Alyce, is a homeless orphan who owns nothing more than the filthy clothes that she wears. The first chapter details how she finds food and shelter every night, eventually sleeping in a dung heap for warmth and safety most nights. As the book continues, she does find a more permanent place to sleep by become the apprentice to a town's midwife. Throughout the book, she learns a lot, but misfortune leads her to a different
