¨Catherine's mother wants to teach her the skills of the lady of the manor and to prepare her to be a gentle and patient wife. Her father only wants her to be married off, and profitably. Catherine herself hopes to become a painter, a Crusader, a maker of songs, a peddlar, a monk, a ministrel, a wart charmer... Of all the possibilities, she has ruled out only one: being sold like cheese to the highest bidder.

Against a vivid background of everyday life on a medieval English manor, Catherine's earthy, spirited account of her fourteenth year is a richly entertaining story with an utterly unforgettable heroine.¨ -Karen Cushman