The Beatryce Prophecy

The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo is a middle grade fantasy adventure that follows a group of characters on quests, both internal and external. The novel was a Horn Book Fanfare selection in 2021 and won the Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Books Award (2021), the Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book of the Year Award (2021), and the School Library Journal Best Book of the Year Award (2021).

This guide is based on the 2021 Candlewick edition of The Beatryce Prophecy.

Plot Summary

The Beatryce Prophecy revolves around the titular character, Beatryce Abelard. In the world of the novel, it is forbidden for girls to read, a law Beatryce’s mother broke by having Beatryce educated. Before the novel begins, Beatryce’s bitter former tutor has decided to get back at her family for their radical ideas by twisting prophecies to his ends, installing a false king on the throne and using that king’s desire to rule as an excuse to have Beatryce killed. However, the soldier sent to murder Beatryce is unsuccessful, and Beatryce escapes to a monastery, where she suppresses her memories of who she is and what happened to her.

Cared for by an eccentric monk and a fiercely protective goat, Beatryce regains her strength, revealing her education. To keep her safe, the monk shaves her head and disguises her as a monk, all the while knowing this can’t protect her forever. When a boy named Jack from the nearby village comes to the monastery in search of a monk to take a dying soldier’s final confession, Beatryce goes, only to learn this is the soldier who tried to kill her.

As Beatryce’s memories return, she, the goat, and her new friend Jack flee into the dark woods, where they meet the former king, who helps them understand the selfish motives of most royalty. Reunited with the monk who nursed her, Beatryce announces her intention to face the king and make him atone for his actions. Realizing she must act quickly and not wanting to put her new friends in danger, she sneaks away in the night, only to be captured by a soldier.

Beatryce is brought to the castle dungeon, where the counselor reveals himself and then sends the king to deal with her. Instead of starting a confrontation, Beatryce recites a story she created based on a mermaid hairbrush the monk told her about. Meanwhile, Jack and the others storm the castle and free Beatryce, unseating the king and his counselor. The group finds and frees Beatryce’s mother as well, who becomes queen, and the story ends with Beatryce and her friends teaching everyone to read and writing stories.