Sam Thomas's "The Midwife’s Tale"

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Sam Thomas has a PhD in history with a focus on Reformation England and recently leaped from the tenure track into a teaching position at a secondary school near Cleveland, Ohio.

Here he dreamcasts an adaptation of his new novel, The Midwife's Tale:

Ah, when you ask who I’d cast in The Midwife’s Tale, you’ve stirred up a marital hornet’s nest worthy of Gone Girl, as my wife and I have gone eleven rounds over this with no agreement.

My main character is Bridget Hodgson, an English midwife practicing her trade (and solving murders) in the midst of the English Civil War. (Puritans, Oliver Cromwell, chopping off the king’s head and all that good stuff.) My wife is convinced we need Kate Winslet for the role, but I just don’t see it. Yes, she’s beautiful enough, but she just doesn’t project the power that my protagonist has. As a result, I’m going with Cate Blanchett. Maybe it’s because I first saw her in Elizabeth, but to me she just radiates authority, and I need that in an actor.

For the sidekick, Martha Hawkins, I’m going to say Jennifer Lawrence. I want someone young enough to play a maidservant, but tough enough to sell my character’s troubled past. If you’ve seen Lawrence in Winter’s Bone, you know she’s got that piece figured out.

The two other recurring characters are Bridget’s nephew Will Hodgson, and her nemesis Rebecca Hooke. For Will I need an actor who’s relatively young and scrappy – Jack O’Connell of This is England seems to fit the bill. And for Rebecca, I think Lauren Graham. Again, she’s got the age and authority the character needs, and provides a nice contrast with Blanchett.

View the trailer for The Midwife’s Tale, and learn more about the book and author at Sam Thomas's website, blog, and Facebook page.

--Marshal Zeringue