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A review by halkid2
The Poison Keeper by Deborah Swift
dark
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
In THE POISON KEEPER, the first in her series of three novels, author Deborah Swift artfully spins the story of Giulia Tofana, a Sicilian-born woman believed to have poisoned hundreds of people in the 17th century. And a truly fascinating historical figure.
It’s 1633, Italy is still a collection of city-states, many governed by Spain. Giulia is a teenager living with her single mother, who supports the family as a skilled herbalist-perfumer. But there’s a secret side to the business that the mother hides from her daughter. Even after the mother is arrested (early in the story) and forces Giulia to run for her life to Naples, and later Rome - Giulia remains ignorant of her mother’s secrets.
This is a period when men hold all the power. Backed by their own personal armies, men control the justice system, the guilds, the markets, and the money. Class, wealth and titles trump everything and everyone. So where does that leave women during this era? They are merely property and completely powerless.
Husbands are free to beat them, starve them, confine, even kill them and no one, including representatives of the law, will intervene. Any woman who answers violence with violence will be jailed and likely executed. If they appeal to local priests for aid, all they get are words encouraging them to pray for an end to their suffering.
The only other option they have is one of last resort. An undetectable poison to speed someone into the next world. And it’s a potion Giulia knows how to mix.
For most of this novel, I was completely transported back to Renaissance Italy, immersed in everyday life — including courting rituals, craft making, and extortion. Along with discovering the wide gap between rich and poor, powerful and powerless, and men and women. So I heartily recommend THE POISON KEEPER. And I will likely go on to read the next book in this series.
Only near the end of the novel did I wince over some of the dialog, which I found unbelievable and heavy-handed. The author apparently had a bit of soap-box messaging to pass on to the reader. In my opinion, this was completely unnecessary since the book makes all the arguments well enough on its own.
It’s 1633, Italy is still a collection of city-states, many governed by Spain. Giulia is a teenager living with her single mother, who supports the family as a skilled herbalist-perfumer. But there’s a secret side to the business that the mother hides from her daughter. Even after the mother is arrested (early in the story) and forces Giulia to run for her life to Naples, and later Rome - Giulia remains ignorant of her mother’s secrets.
This is a period when men hold all the power. Backed by their own personal armies, men control the justice system, the guilds, the markets, and the money. Class, wealth and titles trump everything and everyone. So where does that leave women during this era? They are merely property and completely powerless.
Husbands are free to beat them, starve them, confine, even kill them and no one, including representatives of the law, will intervene. Any woman who answers violence with violence will be jailed and likely executed. If they appeal to local priests for aid, all they get are words encouraging them to pray for an end to their suffering.
The only other option they have is one of last resort. An undetectable poison to speed someone into the next world. And it’s a potion Giulia knows how to mix.
For most of this novel, I was completely transported back to Renaissance Italy, immersed in everyday life — including courting rituals, craft making, and extortion. Along with discovering the wide gap between rich and poor, powerful and powerless, and men and women. So I heartily recommend THE POISON KEEPER. And I will likely go on to read the next book in this series.
Only near the end of the novel did I wince over some of the dialog, which I found unbelievable and heavy-handed. The author apparently had a bit of soap-box messaging to pass on to the reader. In my opinion, this was completely unnecessary since the book makes all the arguments well enough on its own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Torture
Moderate: Murder