Year of Wonders
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 healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and...
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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 healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition. As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love. As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders." Inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in the rugged hill country of England, Year of Wonders is a richly detailed evocation of a singular moment in history. Written with stunning emotional intelligence and introducing "an inspiring heroine" (The Wall Street Journal), Brooks blends love and learning, loss and renewal into a spellbinding and unforgettable read.
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780142001431 (0142001430)
ASIN: 142001430
Publish date: April 30th 2002
Publisher: Penguin
Pages no: 308
Edition language: English
Category:
Novels,
Literature,
European Literature,
British Literature,
Book Club,
Adult Fiction,
Historical Fiction,
Literary Fiction,
Adult,
Medieval,
17th Century
I came to this book by an NPR article discussing pandemic lit. It's a fictionalized tale of the real English town that, struck by plague in 1665, chose to sacrifice themselves by quarantining the town in hopes of preventing the spread of disease to their neighbors. At least, that's the framework f...
***Note: this review assumes that you've read the book.*** One-sentence summary: this novel was a beautiful work of historical fiction until the last twenty pages, which were so unbelievable and out of context that the book was ruined for me. The writing. I absolutely loved the research and the ...
I have never thought about The Plague in these terms. This book really personalizes it. My thoughts on the subject are forever changed. Anna lives through so much pain. Many people would have just given up at some point. She looses her husband, kids, parents—all her family. . . actually 99% of ...
Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks' first novel, focuses on a year in the life of an English village, Eyam (EE-m), in Derbyshire - the plague year 1665-1666 - seen through the eyes of housemaid Anna Frith. The title, Year of Wonders, is taken from the poem Annus Mirabilis, by John Dryden - which Dry...
I borrowed this book as filler, with no expectations that it would be anything more. It ended up being one of the best books that I have read this year. The first person point of view makes Year of Wonders a poignant account of suffering and how that suffering can bring out the best and the worst in...