Scan barcode
A review by kait_lost_in_books
The Hemlock Cure by Joanne Burn
3.0
It is 1666. Plague ravages England. In Derbyshire the village of Eyam takes the unusual step of banning villagers from travelling in order to prevent the spread of the Black Death.
This is Mae’s story as told by her late sister. Mae lives with her father Wulfric, the village apothecary, a religious man who keeps a copy of Malleus Maleficarum (the handbook of the witch finders) hidden in his rooms. He blames Isabelle, the local midwife, for the deaths of his stillborn sons and subsequent death of his wife. He is convinced that she is a witch and that the plague is The Lord’s way of cleansing England of its infestation of witches. Mae fears her father’s wrath but also desperately wants to please him. She longs to train as an apothecary and take over the family business but he has other plans.
If you have an interest in witchcraft or the plague, you may enjoy this story which is based on the tale of the real Village of Eyam who did indeed isolate themselves in order to try to contain the plague. For me it was missing something. There was no hook. I didn’t really care about Mae and Isabelle. It seemed to be telling to separate stories that didn’t really go together and there was what felt like a very clunky London scene to bring lgbt characters in which added nothing to the story. It felt like it was just chucked it in to tick a box.
It was ok. Readable but not something I’m likely to recommend to most people.
This is Mae’s story as told by her late sister. Mae lives with her father Wulfric, the village apothecary, a religious man who keeps a copy of Malleus Maleficarum (the handbook of the witch finders) hidden in his rooms. He blames Isabelle, the local midwife, for the deaths of his stillborn sons and subsequent death of his wife. He is convinced that she is a witch and that the plague is The Lord’s way of cleansing England of its infestation of witches. Mae fears her father’s wrath but also desperately wants to please him. She longs to train as an apothecary and take over the family business but he has other plans.
If you have an interest in witchcraft or the plague, you may enjoy this story which is based on the tale of the real Village of Eyam who did indeed isolate themselves in order to try to contain the plague. For me it was missing something. There was no hook. I didn’t really care about Mae and Isabelle. It seemed to be telling to separate stories that didn’t really go together and there was what felt like a very clunky London scene to bring lgbt characters in which added nothing to the story. It felt like it was just chucked it in to tick a box.
It was ok. Readable but not something I’m likely to recommend to most people.