Year of Wonders

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The writing is rich and beautiful and I liked the fantastic descriptions of the healing arts employed at that time, from herbal draughts to bezoar stones. The smells, flavours, flora and potions transport you to this tiny village in the darkest of times. Cameron, Kenneth (1996). English Place Names. London. p.172. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ( link) From the M6, Macclesfield or Buxton... If travelling northbound on the M6 - from junction 17 through Congleton then Macclesfield. Coming southbound on the M6 - junction 19 and follow signs through Knutsford. Both routes - follow signs to Buxton then A6 eastbound towards Bakewell. Approximately 4 miles east of Buxton turn onto the B6049 north-east until it crosses the A623, turn east towards Chesterfield. Approx 2 miles east turn north onto small road to Foolow. Turn east in Foolow towards Eyam. When the scale of the epidemic became obvious, anyone who could afford to leave London did so. By early summer 1665, the King, his court, and parliament had all fled, leaving behind those citizens who could not afford to abandon their homes and livelihoods. These fortunate few did not return until February 1666 when the plague began to fizzle out. However, out of those left behind, records indicate that between 1665 and 1666, out of a total population of 460,000 as few as 68,596 or as many as 100,000 people died in London of the contagion. In March 2022, Eyam Museum organised a talk looking at how the story of the plague in Eyam has influenced children’s authors. I joined three other authors to discuss our own Eyam-based books and to celebrate the re-publication of Gill Paton Walsh’s classic novel A Parcel of Patterns.

Catherine of Eyam, created at Boundstone Community College by Tom Brown and Aedan Kerney in the 1990s and then revived and rewritten as a community musical for 2017 performance. [81] It was believed that the vinegar would disinfect the money and help stop the spread of the disease. As the plague took hold and the death toll began to rise, all those who could depart the village. The local vicar, William Mompesson sent his children away to stay in Sheffield although his wife, Elizabeth elected to stay with him and lost her life for her pains. However, it was not just the gentry that abandoned Eyam. One family of tradesmen, the Sheldon’s also left the village. Ok, so I’ll do a little overview of what happened and what makes Eyam such a special place to visit.Eyam". Key to English Place-names. English Place Name Society at the University of Nottingham . Retrieved 18 August 2013. Probably referring to its situation between Hollow Brook and Jumber Brook

Stanley and Monpesson were successful in convincing the villagers to observe the quarantine. During the period Eyam was sealed off, only two people tried to leave the village. One, a woman broke quarantine so she could attend the market in the town of Tideswell just five miles away. However, once she arrived at her destination, people recognized her as a resident of Eyam and drove her away with missiles of food and mud and cries of “ The Plague, The Plague.”Perhaps the villagers of Eyam did not leave because they knew there was no sanctuary for them in the outside world. Two Lovers separated by the Quarantine. Detail from Plague Stained Glass window in St Lawrence’s Church, Eyam. Google Images. There is a story that Marshall was asked to dispose of the body of a man called Unwin. He dug a grave in the orchard then went into the house to lift the dead man onto his shoulders to carry him downstairs. But the warmth from the fire caused the fleas to settle on him. He was dead within seven days, followed soon after by his two stepsons, an immediate neighbour – and then the tailor himself. Within a few weeks, in September, five people from the village died. In October, 23 perished. People were dropping, all seemingly at random. It was clear the much-feared plague had reached the village. As the village continues to change, and remains a vital and beautiful place, so too the Museum tells the changing story of Eyam and its people. In so doing it sets the scene for a visit to the village, where you can still see where it all started. I’d like to thank NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for approving me for an ARC of this book. I read this with my fellow Tsundoku Squad member, Wendy. As lovers of historical fiction we were very intrigued by this one and couldn’t wait to buddy read it together.There are twists and turns, developments, suspense, and a full character cast that all add together to make this novel one of a kind and truly immersive. I whole heartedly recommend this historical fiction that I truly enjoyed. And when she becomes the Catherine of the past, she starts to get strange feelings about the future. She says “What has the future to do with me?”