Year of Wonders

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Hoewel dit boek qua premisse helemaal mijn ding zou moeten zijn vond ik het wat all over the place. Het rare perspectief van Leah had weinig meerwaarde en er zijn heel veel plotlijnen die slechts traag worden afgehandeld. Tegen het midden van het boek weet je nog altijd precies niets en dat was redelijk frustrerend. The small hamlet of Eyam is in what is now the Peak District National Park, beside two brooks. It dates from the Roman era, though evidence of even earlier settlements has been found. The villagers took every precaution to keep the plague at bay. They burned rosemary and wore masks stuffed with herbs. Doors and windows were kept closed so the plague spores could not enter and fires were lit in the village streets to drive them away. When they realized that smoke and herbs would do little good, some people even took to sitting in the sewers, in the hope that the foul odors would succeed where sweet had not and drive off the disease. However, it was all in vain. Death of the Tailor. Detail from the Plague Window of St Lawrence’s Church, Eyam. Google Images. It also focusses on the tensions that have been created by the plague. The distrust, and the sense of hopelessness. Not sure if or how you should help your neighbours.

Hoare, Edward Newenham (28 March 1881). "The Brave Men of Eyam, Or, A Tale of the Great Plague Year". Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge – via Google Books. What could have been just another book about how witches lived in the 17th century turned out to be quite satisfying.Spare minutes of a country parson: A volume of miscellaneous poetry. Manchester. 1874. pp.43–44. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ( link) Riley Grave-Stones: a Derbyshire story", published under a pseudonym in The London Magazine for January – June 1823. [55] An account of the plague in Eyam and the encounter between the author and a granddaughter of one of the victims, it is prefaced by lines purporting to come from a poem titled "The Plague of Eyam" and also contains the lyric "Eyam Banks". I liked the way the book was written from the POV of a woman. Mae, lives with her father, the village apothecary. She works with him and really wants him to accept her as his assistant but these are strange and dangerous times for women. Especially difficult times for those who know how to mix potions and medicines. She does study this however with the local midwife and wise woman. However, their knowledge of herbs and the more natural remedies is going to bring trouble to their doors.

We All Fall Down", written by Leeds-based band iLiKETRAiNS and featured on their album Elegies to Lessons Learnt, 2007. [83] People of the 17th Century believed in numerous theories regarding the origins of the plague. Most believed that it was a punishment sent by God for the sins of the world. People sought forgiveness through prayer and by repenting for their sins. Many felt that it was caused by bad air, which they referred to as miasma. Those who could afford it would carry pomanders stuffed with sweet herbs and spices or carry sweet smelling flowers. Windows and doors were closed and many, especially watchers and searchers in plague hit London, would smoke tobacco. Large piles of foul smelling rubbish were also cleared. The plague ran its course over 14 months and one account states that it killed at least 260 villagers, with only 83 surviving out of a population of 350. [18] That figure has been challenged, with alternative figures of 430 survivors from a population of around 800 being given. [18] The church in Eyam has a record of 273 individuals who were victims of the plague. [21]

'There's a lot of parallels to coronavirus now'

The sacrifice Eyam made did stop the disease from spreading to outside villages (and potentially saved thousands of lives) but at a great cost to their own. Residents of Eyam would collect the supplies and then drop coins into small holes that were filled with vinegar believing it would disinfect the money. 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. It's so easy for characters like Wulfric to be on their pedestal, praised for their work; and never looking too close at his own sins.