The Hemlock Cure: "A beautifully written story of the women of Eyam" Jennifer Saint, author of ARIADNE

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We get to follow Wulfric, Mae's father, and the village apothecary. He is a pious man, and believes only sinners will get ill; but still becomes an influential figure to the village; the only one who can slow the plague. Mae is just reaching puberty, but she is having to hide the signs from her father as she knows he will not be happy and she will no doubt be in for another beating if he finds out. She has tried to be the best daughter she can, running the home following the deaths of her mother and sister but he is never happy. Her father is the village’s apothecary and highly regarded but not many know what sort of a man he really is. He has done some terrible things in his life but he is a very strong believer in God, and in his twisted mind he believes he is following God’s signs. Mae was hoping to follow in her father’s footsteps, even trying to teach herself new apothecary skills but she is devastated Em when her father takes on young Sam as his trainee. I really liked the layout of this story. We had the main chapters which followed Mae and her story but interspersed were entries from Wulfric’s diary as well as Leah, Mae’s older sister. These diary entries gave not only insight into Wulfric’s state of mind but the events that lead up to both Leah and her mother’s death. When Uma discovers her husband’s infidelity just hours before his untimely death, the carefully woven threads of her life begin to unravel.

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Isabel is the village midwife. She has known Mae since she was born; and after her mother dies, and her father ignores her; Isabel steps in to be a parental figure. She knows that Mae is smart and encourages her learning herblore and healing. Baseado em factos reais, a história que nos é contada em “A Cura da Cicuta” é passada na vila de Eyam, entre 1665 e 1666 (período em que Inglaterra se debatia com a peste negra). Também Eyam passará por um período de quarentena com o objetivo de minimizar as consequências da peste. Share this event Save this event: A VERY SIMPLE MIND: Derek Forbes in conversation with Joel McIver I was unfamiliar with the story of Eyam prior to reading; plague era fiction isn't usually my go-to but I was drawn in by a pretty cover, and you know what? I wasn't disappointed. Hidden in the Derbyshire Dales, in a hollow where the crags of the Dark Peak meet the hills of the White Peak, is the village of Eyam – an ancient place, settled in Anglo-Saxon times, known by some as ‘the plague village’.In a wholly original take on the Eyam story, Joanne Burn's elegant prose, rich in authentic detail, results in a rewarding and timely read." - Sarah Burton Beautifully written & character driven I particularly loved the female relationships that run through the book & the focus on family not necessarily being blood but those you love & care for. Leah's narration & Wulfric's diary entries are a great way to allow the reader more of an oversight of the whole picture. Mae & Isabel really shone through for me. What could have been just another book about how witches lived in the 17th century turned out to be quite satisfying. I can't say that any of the characters felt unique, and that was probably one of my biggest problems with it. The subject matter was similarly mediocre. 'The plague, the church, village herbal women fight the patriarchy' has been done to death, and there wasn't much that made this exploration of those topics unique. Furthermore, the pacing was unnecessarily ponderous, and I spent much of this novel wondering when something was finally going to happen. Sure, it's basically Mae's coming of age story, but I wasn't interested in her at all, so I was pretty bored throughout.

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Share this event Save this event: Louder Than Words Festival 2023 - Early Bird Discounted Weekend Passes In the autumn of 1665, a delivery from London of clothing and cloth arrived at the tailor’s house in Eyam, bringing with it rat fleas and the bubonic plague they carried. Within a few days, the tailor’s journeyman, George Viccars, had fallen ill and died. As the disease spread steadily from house to house, the wealthier villagers were able to escape, having other homes to flee to. But tenant farmers, lead miners and labourers had nowhere else to go, and couldn’t afford to leave their livelihoods behind. What really captivated me about this was the fact that it's all told from the perspective of Leah, Mae's older, and long dead, sister. I cannot stress enough how well this was done. Leah's character, despite not being able to directly interact with any of the other characters, is so well thought out. She is flawed and sometimes really unlikeable, but altogether human. And meanwhile another danger is on its way from London. One that threatens to engulf them all . . . Mae, the apothecary's youngest daughter, dreads her father's rage if he discovers what she keeps from him: her feelings for Rafe, Isabel's ward, or the fact that she studies from her father's books at night.Like so many other writers, I discovered my love of writing when I was very young. I wrote poetry and short stories as a child and teenager; it’s how I made sense of the world. I was delighted when my teacher in primary school bound one of my stories into a ‘proper book’ and read it to the class at the end of the school day. My first audience! I could not have been happier. Isabel Frith, the village midwife, walks a dangerous line with her herbs and remedies. There are men in the village who speak of witchcraft, and Isabel has a past to hide. So she tells nobody her fears about Wulfric, the pious, reclusive apothecary. Most of the secondary characters are based on actual people who lived there at the time, but for artistic licence the author has based the main storyline around fictitious characters. As well as Eyam, we get to travel to the plague capital city of London. This brings the small and isolated village into stark contrast and it shows how the plague ravaged the streets, people’s lives and the entire country as a result. Those poor villagers, miles away, were never far from my mind.

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Interestingly, the novel is narrated by Mae’s sister who has passed away before the events of the novel. It is a fascinating narration choice and one I enjoyed in the moments when it was most relevant. I sometimes found myself forgetting this narration choice and remembering only when the writing specifically reminded me which was sometimes jarring. However, it doesn’t overshadow the novel and for some readers I think this will add depth to the narration. But the story progressed really slowly and I felt my attention waning throughout. The other issue for me was the timehop that was sometimes a little confusing. For me it didn’t hold my attention like I was hoping it would but I enjoyed it for what it was, a good historical fiction. Het draait rond Mae en Isabel, twee vrouwen met een interesse in geneeskunde en dan komt het woord heks dichtbij in de 17de eeuw. Maar we leren ook Isabel's man Johan zijn achtergrondverhaal kennen. Hij trekt naar Londen waar hij de gevolgen van de pestepidemie waarneemt. En dan heb je nog Rafe, die bij Isabel en Johan woont en waar Mae wel interesse in heeft. The writing weaved in and around the puzzles and problems of the day and the pacing didn’t always flow as well as I would like. Mae as a main character was fascinating. The novel contained themes of medicines, witchery goings on and a great deal of darkness. How fascinating to find out about how an entire village tried to protect themselves from the unknown. Although the timing and POV jumped about a bit, by the end of the novel, when the entire story reveals itself, you’ll be pleased you read this book slowly and immersed yourself in a very fine historical fiction experience.Many thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review. In hindsight, I thought it helped add her understanding of what really happens. But I mostly found it awkward, confusing and unnecessary. Women of limited means could create infusions, which were boiled over a fire. Decoctions involved steeping harder substances (like bark) in hot water for hours, even days. If you could afford the alcohol required for steeping then you would be able to make a tincture, and if you had sugar at your disposal then medicinal cordials, syrups and lozenges became an option. But it will only ever have been gentlewomen and apothecaries who possessed the expensive equipment and quantities of ingredients required to make the more complicated and luxurious remedies – distillation being the most prized and sophisticated of all.