Newes from the Dead

Ashley O'Cain

Newes from the Dead

By Mary Hooper

This book is about the story of a young girl, Anne Green, in 1650 who survived being hung. She woke up to find herself in a coffin and unable able to move. She told the story of what led up to her being hung. She was a servant for a man named Sir Thomas. Sir Thomas’s grandson, Geoffrey, promised her that if she would have a sexual relationship with her that he would make her wealthy and make her the woman of the house. Geoffrey said, “Annie. Annie! Don’t you want to be mistress here? He asked. Have you already forgotten everything that will be yours” (56). Geoffrey said that to Anne to threaten her and remind her of what he would give her.  After several sexual interactions Anne becomes pregnant. Geoffrey was married, so he denied the baby. Anne tried to have a miscarriage but it did not work. When she gave birth it was a still born. Anne told Sir Thomas that the baby was Geoffrey’s and he did not believe her. Sir Thomas said “For she cannot be trusted. None of you are safe in your beds while she is close by” (129). This shows Sir Thomas’s reaction to Anne saying that the baby was his grandsons. He was very mean to her and did not think it was possible for his grandson to have a child with a servant girl. He says that Anna was a liar and a murderer. She went to jail and was later hung. After her hanging she was sent to be analyzed by doctors. When she was there the doctors and Medical student watched her and saw some weird movements. Robert Mathews, a medical student, convinces everyone else that Anne is not dead. As the book says, “For a moment everything halted. The doctors and scholars who surrounded the corpse formed a tableau around Anne Green, whose body seemed rapt between heaven and Earth. She neither lived, nor was she wholly dead” (107). This shows the state of Anne’s body and how astonished the doctors were. It was such a weird thing to think about and it almost seems impossible.

This book is based on a true story so it had a lot of historical content. The book showed how they punished people in the 1600’s. They would execute them by hanging them in front of the whole town and the person’s whole family. You did not have to have a good reason to say the person should be hung and there was no trials. That is what happened to Anne Green. The book also showed what it was like to be a servant in the 1600s. Anne really did not have a choice of whether she wanted to have relations with Geoffrey or not. She had to listen to her master and anyone in that family or else they could execute her or make her life horrible. Servants were the lowest in society and Anna’s character showed that. I enjoyed reading Newes from the Dead very much and I would recommend it. It kept my attention and was very interesting. It was well written and very detailed. I could picture Anne lying on the floor after she gave birth to her dead baby crying and shaking. Hooper’s writing made me realize what life was like a servant in that time and really showed Anne’s emotions and thoughts well. 

Mary Hooper has written more than sixty children’s and young adult books. She earned an English degree at Reading University. She began writer with short stories and then moved to women’s and teens magazines. She was nominated for the Carnegie Medal. She was very qualified to write this book.