''The Hangman's Daughter'' (original title in german: Die Henkerstochter) is a novel by Oliver Pötzsch. First published in Germany by

Ullstein Verlag The ''Ullstein Verlag'' was founded by Leopold Ullstein in 1877 at Berlin and is one of the largest publishing companies of Germany. It published newspapers like '' B.Z.'' and ''Berliner Morgenpost'' and books through its subsidiaries ''Ullstein B ...

in 2008, it was translated into English and issued digitally under the AmazonCrossing imprint in 2010. A paper edition was released in English by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2010. The book is set beginning in 1659, while its

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...

briefly recounts events from 1624. The characters continue in the sequels ''The Dark Monk'' (2009) (german: Die Henkerstochter und der schwarze Mönch), ''The Beggar King'' (2010) (german: Die Henkerstochter und der König der Bettler), ''The Poisoned Pilgrim'' (german: Der Hexer und die Henkerstochter) (2012), ''The Werewolf of Bamburg'' (2015) (german: Die Henkerstochter und der Teufel von Bamberg) and ''The Play of Death'' (2017) (german: Die Henkerstochter und das Spiel des Todes) and ''The Council of Twelve'' (2018) (german: Die Henkerstochter und der Rat der Zwölf). The most recent novel in the series is ''The Hangman's Daughter and the Curse of the Plague'' (german: Die Henkerstochter und der Fluch der Pest) (2020). The series had sold over 800,000 copies in all formats by the time the fourth title in the series, ''The Poisoned Pilgrim'', was published in 2012. The primary setting for each of the books in the series is the

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n town of Schongau, which is located along the

Lech Lech may refer to: People * Lech (name), a name of Polish origin * Lech, the legendary founder of Poland * Lech (Bohemian prince) Products and organizations * Lech (beer), Polish beer produced by Kompania Piwowarska, in Poznań * Lech Poznań, ...

, between

Landsberg am Lech Landsberg am Lech (Landsberg at the Lech (river), Lech) is a Town#Germany, town in southwest Bavaria, Germany, about 65 kilometers west of Munich and 35 kilometers south of Augsburg. It is the capital of the district of Landsberg (district), Lands ...

and

Füssen Füssen is a town in Bavaria, Germany, in the district of Ostallgäu, situated one kilometre from the Austrian border. The town is known for violin manufacturing and as the closest transportation hub for the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau ca ...

. The main entrance to the town is the Hof Gate, inside of which live the respected tradesmen, hence the houses look sturdier and are built exclusively of stone. Those with wealth had been able to move away from the pungent tanners' quarter, on the banks of the Lech, or the butchers' quarter to the east.

Main characters

*Jakob Kuisl, the town's hangman. He is married to Anna Maria. The couple are parents to Magdalena (for whom the book is named) and twins Georg and Barbara *Simon Fronwieser, the son of the town's physician Bonifaz Fronwieser *Konrad Weber, the parish priest *Resl, server at the Goldener Stern Inn

Aldermen

*Johann Lechner, court clerk *Karl Semer,

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chie ...

and landlord of the inn *Matthias Holzhofer, burgomaster *Johann Püchner, burgomaster *Wilhelm Hardenberg, superintendent of the Holy Ghost almshouse *Jakob Schreevogl, stovemaker and trial witness. He is married to Maria. They are guardians of Clara *Michael Berchtholdt, baker and trial witness *Georg Augustin, wagon driver and trial witness

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hangman's Daughter 2008 German novels German historical novels Fiction set in the 17th century Witchcraft in written fiction