JOCKIN THE JESTER

by Ursula Moray Williams ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1973

Between a slow start and an unrealistically tidy ending, Ursula Moray Williams creates a likable character in a three-dimensional historical setting. Jockin is a reluctant jester, chosen at birth for a profession for which, upon nearing manhood, he finds himself totally unsuited -- being as he says neither witty nor witless. Soon however Jockin finds his place in Sir Richard's manor house as a sort of companion to the lord's children, eventually learning the ways of a jester and developing his own animal acts. After rescuing the lord's eldest daughter when resentful peasants set the house on fire, he nevertheless endures hardship and imprisonment due to the treachery of a jealous dwarf. Jockin is at last reinstated, the dwarf (on the jester's initiative) forgiven, the burnt-out family reunited, the arsonists punished and the remaining peasants put to work rebuilding the castle -- presumably loyal and chastened though this is just a few decades before the cataclysmic Peasants' Revolt. But Williams is better than most at fleshing out the melodrama and both Jockin's development in situ and the amenities of manor living are convincingly projected.

Pub Date: April 1, 1973

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Nelson

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1973

Categories: FICTION