Our August book choice was Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks – everyone enjoyed it – it scored mostly 10s and all felt it was very well written, with the added bonus that the story was derived from a true event in Derbyshire in 1666.
An unforgettable tale, set in 17th century England, of a village that quarantines itself to stop the spread of the plague.
When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated village, a housemaid named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and through plants, as an healer. Through the eyes of Anna we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666 as she and her fellow villagers, particularly the vicar and his wife, Elinor, for whom Anna works, confront the spread of the disease and superstition. As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love. As she struggles to survive, despite the loss of her two young sons, a disastrous year becomes a year of wonder.
A lot of the characters of the village are incorporated into the story – from the people in the Big House disappearing to a safe place without any regard for their community, to a young Quaker girl left on her own to mine coal from her coal mine.
The story is inspired by true events of a village Eyam (pronounced Eem) in the rugged hill country of Derbyshire, it is a richly detailed evocation of a singular moment in history.
The remedies obtained from plants in this era is so very interesting – no doubt many of them in use today.
A book highly recommended by the Book Club.
Crowlas & Ludgvan WI 