The Hangman in the Mirror
CBC Books | CBC | Posted: February 28, 2017 7:25 PM | Last Updated: March 1, 2017
Kate Cayley
It's 18th-century New France and life is difficult for Francoise Laurent and her family. But when her parents die of smallpox, Francoise sees being orphaned as an opportunity to make a new and better life for herself. She gets a job as an aide to the wife of a fur trader, which is a huge step up — until she is caught stealing. Her only way out alive is to convince the hangman to marry her. Can she do it? Inspired by true events.
The Hangman in the Mirror is for readers ages 12 and up.
From the book
"I have compromised my dignity already by coming to see you at all. I would humiliate myself to end it, and what is worse, humiliate my husband. When something is set in motion, Francoise, it must run its course. Authority, property, law, these are real things, which it is a duty to preserve. And when offended, remedies must be sought, and punishment is now the remedy. Once the process is begun, there is no end, no help for it."
From The Hangman in the Mirror by Kate Cayley ©2011. Published by Annick Press.