Product Description

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 'March' and 'People of the Book'. A young woman's struggle to save her family and her soul during the extraordinary year of 1666, when plague suddenly struck a small Derbyshire village. In 1666, plague swept through London, driving the King and his court to Oxford, and Samuel Pepys to Greenwich, in an attempt to escape contagion. The north of England remained untouched until, in a small community of leadminers and hill farmers, a bolt of cloth arrived from the capital. The tailor who cut the cloth had no way of knowing that the damp fabric carried with it bubonic infection. So begins the Year of Wonders, in which a Pennine village of 350 souls confronts a scourge beyond remedy or understanding. Desperate, the villagers turn to sorcery, herb lore, and murderous witch-hunting. Then, led by a young and charismatic preacher, they elect to isolate themselves in a fatal quarantine. The story is told through the eyes of Anna Frith who, at only 18, must contend with the death of her family, the disintegration of her society, and the lure of a dangerous and illicit attraction.Geraldine Brooks's novel explores love and learning, fear and fanaticism, and the struggle of 17th century science and religion to deal with a seemingly diabolical pestilence. 'Year of Wonders' is also an eloquent memorial to the real-life Derbyshire villagers who chose to suffer alone during England's last great plague.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1797 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Geraldine Brooks's Year of Wonders describes the 17th-century plague that is carried from London to a small Derbyshire village by an itinerant tailor. As villagers begin, one by one, to die, the rest face a choice. Do they flee their village in the hope of outrunning the plague or do they stay? The lord of the manor and his family pack and leave. The rector, Michael Mompellion, argues forcefully that the villagers should stay put, isolate themselves from neighbouring towns and villages and prevent the contagion from spreading. His oratory wins the day and the village turns in on itself. Cocooned from the outside world and ravaged by the disease, its inhabitants struggle to retain their humanity in the face of the disaster. The narrator, a young widow called Anna Frith, is one of the few who succeeds. Together with Mompellion and his wife Elinor, she tends the dying and battles to prevent her fellow villagers from descending into drink, violence and superstition. All is complicated by the intense, unacknowledgeable feelings she develops for both the rector and his wife. Year of Wonderssometimes seems anachronistic as historical fiction. Anna and Mompellion can occasionally appear to be modern sensibilities unaccountably transferred to 17th-century Derbyshire. However there is no mistaking the power of Brooks's imagination or the skill with which she constructs her story of ordinary people struggling to cope with extraordinary circumstances.--Nick Rennison

Review
'One of the best novels I've ever clapped eyes on' Jenni Murray, Woman's Hour 'Geraldine Brooks's impressive novel goes well beyond chronicling the devastation of a plague-ridden village. It leaves us with the memory of vivid characters struggling in timeless human ways with the hardships confronting them -- and the memory, too, of an elegant and engaging story.' Arthur Golden, author of 'Memoirs of a Geisha' 'Geraldine Brooks's 'Year of Wonders' is a wonder indeed. The novel gives the reader a remarkable glimpse into a 17th century horror, but does so with both compassion and exuberance. Read it for the inventiveness of the language alone -- a genuine treat.' Anita Shreve, author of 'The Pilot's Wife' and 'The Last TIme They Met' 'More than a mountain of corpses, more than a sensual evocation of the Sapphic bond between two women, more than a pulse-quickening tale, 'Year of Wonders' is a staggering fictional debut.' Guardian "Year of Wonders' carries absolute conviction as an evocation of place and mood. It has a vivid imaginative truth, and is beautifully written.' Hilary Mantel

Daily Mail, July 20th 2001
'A very well written, atmospheric account of what-might-have-happened...gripping.'

Customer Reviews

"Oh, yes, the Devil has been here this night!"
Set in the Derbyshire countryside in 1666, THE YEAR OF WONDERS details the accounts of a small village ravaged by the Plague. Told exclusively from the first-person account of Anna Firth, a young hardworking widow and mother of two young children, who is employed in the residence of Michael Mompellion, the rector, and his wife, Elinor. After the Plague was incidentally transported to the village inside a bolt of fabric the disease spreads fast and eventually kills one third of the population of the village. The village voluntarily quarantines themselves from any outside contact in a hope to contain the infection. During these desperate months Anna takes it upon herself to help ease the pain of others. In her efforts she forges a strong friendship with Elinor while learning and studying natural remedies and therapies. Helping others aids her in helping ease the pain of her own loss to the Plague.

THE YEAR OF WONDERS is not a typical work of historical fiction. According to the book's Afterword this story was inspired by the true story of the villagers of Eyam, Derbyshire and their own historical account of the Plague. While hiking through the English countryside Geraldine Brooks encountered a finger post pointing the way to the 'Plague Village'. Months of painful research concluded in the writing of this book, and a recreation of how a village struggled against a deadly disease while trying to maintain social order. While Brooks took some liberties in the development of the plot, but some aspects are rooted in truth including several true identities and names. The title of the book reflects worldly events and the strong belief that God works in mysterious ways.

I only wish that Brooks included more social and historical background to the events that were simply alluded to. This would strengthen the plot and make reading more beneficial. Otherwise, I felt left in the dark when events such as the war with the Dutch were briefly mentioned. A very brief summary was included in the Afterword but it seemed too little too late. Otherwise, Brooks did a good job recreating the events occurring in Eyam during the Plague year of 1666.

A true story of the plague years brilliantly fictionalised
I found this book a great read and a revelation. It is a fictionalised account of the true story of a Derbyshire village struck down by the plague in 1666. The details of speech and local customs -right down to animal husbandry and the arcane rules of lead mining - are so well rendered it's hard to believe the author wasn't there. Yet despite these historical details the imprint of hours in the library does not hang heavy on the story. It is a gripping read, quite dark in places, sexy in others and gripping throughout. I learned a lot from it while being swept along by the suspense and the totally believable characters. There is an air of Bronte about it at times (although it is of a much earlier period)- and I mean that as the highest compliment.

a book of wonders
This book was fascinating and compelling reading. Full with so many starling illustrations of the horror of life in the most difficult of times - offset by the caring, gentle and all too human nature of its principal character. One was transported into the heart of England and the simple joys and harsh perils of some of its darkest days.

As a previous reviewer suggested, it would indeed make a wonderful film i the hands of an enlightened director - but it must dispense first with that apalling epilogue.