This was a really good historical fiction book, I have never read anything from this era before. It is set in 1666 and the plague is heading for a small rural village. The story is told from the perspective of Anna Frith a young married housemaid with two young children. This is a fascinating insight into the lives of ordinary people under extraordinary circumstances. The overall concept for the book is based on a factual story of a village under siege from the plague. It is difficult to imagine such an illness without the medical knowledge we possess today, it is no wonder people driven by fear believe in all kinds of superstition and far fetched cures. This book is very well researched and is at times very sad, very warm and very inspirational. My first 5 star this year. Highly recommended to historical fiction fans and everyone who enjoys a good story told well.

This spellbinding story is “inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in the rugged mountain spine of England.”

In the spring of 1665 Anna Frith is widowed at the age of 18, raising two babies, when a man, referred by rector, appears at her door looking for lodging. He settles in her attic, the money helps her to feed the family, but what she learns to appreciate the most is to be able to laugh again.

Soon after, plague reaches the village. And when one village-folk after another are being claimed by plague, Anna gets involved with herbs, administering tonics to afflicted ones.

Such trying times, turn some simple souls into superstition, some into Flagellants – “Their belief is that by grievous self-punishment they can allay God’s wrath.” But at the end, one’s struggle can turn into a wonder.

This beautifully written story brings a vivid picture of a struggle for survival.

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A village deals with the plague and a girl finds out who she is and what she believes. Excellent plot, character development and exposition.

I read this book for the second time as I'm looking to immerse myself/thoughts on mediaeval England. Compelling and readable story, dark (as you would except of a story set during a plague outbreak) but never gratuitously so; there is always heart and beauty. I sympathised a lot with the main character especially as a mother. I had forgotten how surprising the ending is, I remember finding it quite jarring the first time I read this round but less so this time.

The bubonic plague hit Eyam, England in the 1600’s like the apocalypse. Geraldine Brooks writes a grim tale based on a true incident in which this village is nearly annihilated and causes its residents to question God’s existence, God’s ability to intervene, and the power of nature. The strength of women, the hysteria of witchcraft, natural herbal cures, and the ignorance of staunching the spread of disease unfold in this tragedy.

I enjoyed reading this well written portrayal of life in Britain in the Restoration period, even with the reveal at the end that seems highly improbable.

This is such an unusual time that we are all experiencing right now. I have studied history and our history is riddled with plague, disease, and infection. I wanted to read about another’s view about these circumstances, whether fiction or nonfiction. Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks is a fictional story that takes place in the year 1666. Anna Frith is a housemaid in a village in the hills. She is married to a simple miner and has two children. They live a simple life but a happy one. That is until a piece of cloth finds its way to the village from London, carrying the plague. The local pastor makes the decision to quarantine the town from the outside world. This doesn’t stop the disease from destroying the village. What is left is destroyed by the mass hysteria of those who are left alive…

This is definitely a unique experience reading a book about the plague while in quarantine. One thing is for certain, the pastor acted way faster than our government did. However, there are some similarities. The book shows religious hysteria and witch hunts. They don’t understand why this is happening and how the disease spreads, so they take it out on each other the only way they know-how. Fast forward to the present day, we are more arrogant. We have better medical advancements and we have an idea how the virus spreads but the problem is stopping it. We don’t necessarily have witch hunts, but we do have the internet which is vital in the spread of false information and conspiracy theories. There are also people who think that they can’t be quarantined. That they can just go where they please…doesn’t that sound familiar.

Okay, now more about the actual book. This book is absolutely beautiful. The hope that comes out of utter despair is my favorite aspect of the book. There is also the courageous Anna. She witnesses loss beyond all imagining but still gets up every day, leaves the house to take care of those who are suffering, all while having the want to learn as much as she can about healing. She is a heroine. (Just like all our essential workers, right now. I see you and thank you!)

Another beautiful part of the story is Anna’s friendship with the pastor’s wife, Elinor. They lean on each other and gather strength from each other. I love how they just build each other up, as what women should do.

“Oh, the spark was clear in you when you first came to me–but you covered your light as if you were afraid of what would happen if anybody saw it. You were like a flame blown by the wind until it is almost extinguished. All I had to do was put the glass around you. And now, how you shine!”

YEAR OF WONDERS PAGE 234
The prose is absolutely stunning and I was entranced from the very first page. This book really dives into the human condition and shows the beauty in sometimes a very dark world. This book gets a perfect 5 stars from me!

"Annus mirabilis" è il titolo di un poema che John Dryden scrisse riferendosi all'anno 1666.
La superstizione popolare era convinta che sarebbe stato un anno rovinoso -se non letale- in quanto in esso era contenuta la sequenza 666 attribuita a Satana.
L'Inghilterra, però, riportò importanti vittorie sulla nemica Olanda e, nonostante Londra fosse stata colpita da quello che è passato alla storia come "Il grande Incendio" non ci furono, secondo Dryden conseguenze così nefaste.

"Annus mirabilis" è diventato così una locuzione che Dryden ha lasciato in eredità per riferirsi ad annate particolarmente miracolose.
C’è qualcosa, tuttavia, che Dryden tralascia nel suo encomio alla vittoria inglese ed è sconcertante perché non si tratta di un’omissione da poco.
Ciò che non (vuole) ricorda(re) è che il 1666 fu anche l'anno di maggior diffusione della peste nera che confusa in un carico di cotone proveniente dai Paesi Bassi s'insinua subdola nel territorio britannico.
La Storia ufficiale riporta l'episodio di Eyam (nel Derbyshire) che circoscrisse il contagio chiudendo eroicamente i confini del villaggio.

Ho amato molto il modo in cui Geraldine Brooks ha ricostruito questa vicenda storica descrivendoci un'umanità non solo rinchiusa "in una prigione verde" ma nella morsa della mentalità puritana e superstiziosa.

Contagi
2014- Il virus Ebola dopo: Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Costa d’Avorio, Repubblica democratica del Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Senegal, Uganda, Mali e Guinea-Bissau arriva anche in Nigeria.
A cosa serve scrivere e leggere il passato se non a capire il presente ed affrontare il futuro?

I am a bit ambivalent about this story. We are plummeted into what must have been one of the darkest periods of human history. Not just because of the plague, terrible enough as it was, but because of the suffocating amount of superstition and ignorance. Let me just clarify, ignorance in the sense of not knowing about a certain thing or unusual event is fine, but creating fairy tales to explain such phenomena drives me nuts – so specifically, let’s say, witchcraft (burn her!!!!) and various flavours of dogmatic religious beliefs and practices drove me bananas. Still does.

Anna Frith is the main character here and she is a widower living in Derbyshire in the 1600s. Her small town is hit by the bubonic plague. This terrible disease with a mortality rate around 40-60% or closer to 100% if left untreated. This disease provides for an excruciating death, as the bacteria Yersinia pestis explodes into the bloodstream causing fatal septicaemias (there are other forms too – such as pneumonias and more). One notable feature is the appearance of grotesque bulbous protrusions on one’s body, often erupting and causing all sorts of unsightly and painful deaths.



People are dropping like flies. The descriptions provided by the author are graphic and grim. I found this part of the story interesting, as it provided a taste of what life might have been like. There are various characters we can hate (like Anna’s dad) and characters we can love, like our narrator - Anna.

However, towards the end of the story a few things happened that rocked my bubonic world. I did not expect some of these occurrences, in fact, I thought they were a little unlikely, unusually so. It was all a bit unsettling.

I was also a little perturbed by the first-person narrative of Anna. She often used words like “shit,” which did not work for me, as (even stated in the book) people could be put in the stocks and have rotten carrots thrown at them for swearing. Her narrative was a bit too modern, it lacked authenticity.

This was a bit disappointing as this is a worthwhile topic. Particularly considering our recent experiences with our own pandemic. But it did make me think – if COVID-19 had the same mortality rate as the plague or say the Ebola virus, we all would have been having entirely different conversations – those of us who were left.

2 Stars

Винаги съм си представяла, че когато писателите поднасят своите истории на белия лист, тези истории - за разлика от живота - са вече филигранно завършени, а дори някоя тяхна нишка да плъзне извън рамката, тя само придава завършеност на композицията. Това отличава за мен - съвсем субективно - добрите истории от лошите.

Джералдин Брукс е съставила интересна и въздействаща композиция през първите три четвърти от романа си. Обаче в последната четвърт е изтървала паникьосано кълбото с нишките, те са се разпилели, заврели са се в трънака и са се разнищили, цветовете им са издъхнали до мръсно неотличимо сиво в дебелия слой прах, и накрая са останали тънки, жалки и грозни остатъчни кончета. Първоначално замисленото и изтъкано до момента платно се е разпрело като по магия. Брукс е от авторите, които страшно се страхуват от края на историята си. И в бягството си от отговорност за него съсипват създаденото преди това.

Самият сюжет е същинска благодат за изследване в исторически, социален и психологически план. Малко английско селце от 1666 г. в бурната епоха на Реставрацията на монархията, връхлетяно от черната смърт. Лицата на борещите се за оцеляване изпъкват с непоносима яркост, както и всички остри ръбове на епохата и средата: пуританското религиозно реакционерство върви ръка за ръка с примитивните ежедневни заблуди като липсата на хигиена например; жестокостта, обуздавана в ежедневието и избухнала насред чумата изличава всичко различно под мотото “вещерство”; но и безкористността и здравият разум все пак не се предават.

Както казах - писателска и читателска благодат в първите три четвърти. Която изпуснатите писателски нерви на Брукс, уви, опропастиха за мен посредством прибързан, абсурден, опровергаващ всичко написано до момента и чисто идиотски финал. (Със същия ефект можеше да намеси и извънземните…).

I'm not sure how to rate this one exactly. The first half was slow moving, and as thrilling as the topic was (plague spreading through a small village) I didn't feel thrilled with the book itself. It just wasn't moving as quickly as the plague eventually did.

Now, last night I opened the book with 150 pages to go (second half) and finished it! It went by so much quicker. Anna Firth, our strong female narrator is crazy! She goes from being the sad widow, to saving lives, to suicidal, to lover, to harem. Yes, I said Harem... the ending was so bizarre and nothing I would've ever imagined. I'm still not quite sure how all of this fits together. Maybe that's the point.

My favorite character was Elinor. Wounded, repentant, and spunky, she really was extremely well drawn out in this book.

Still left shaking my head...

Opening quote added 1 April 2024

'I was too stunned by all I had heard to say anything, so I simply rose from my stool, grasped both her hands, and kissed them. How little we know; I thought, of the people we live amongst.’ (p155) - Anna Frith on hearing Elinor Mompellion’s story

What an astonishing woman is Anna Frith, the heroine of Year of Wonders, the story of a plague ridden village in 1666 choosing to quarantine itself away to contain the pestilence.

Anna is not the only one with heroic qualities, but is by far the most accomplished. Elinor is also heroic in her sweetness, forbearance, egalitarianism and determination even if frail. the real love story of Year of Wonders is Anna and Elinor. Despite hostility and ignorance directed towards them Anys Gowdie and her aunt Mem Gowdie, are devoted to helping others with herbal potions and pastes, as well as delivering the village babies. A young woman inheriting a lead mine by default is determined to work it herself knowing it would be a forlorn undertaking. Even the kitchen hand turfed out of Colonel Bradford’s estate shows some pluck as the patrician Colonel flees with his family, the only ones to leave the village.

Anna is a lowly house maid, a servant. She cleans and cooks, but then learns to read and then read in Latin (to learn the ‘physic’) and by dint of hard work and application becomes a proficient, skilled in the production of salves and potions and together with Elinor they sooth the ill and bolster the not yet ill. When Anys and Mem pay dearly for their ‘witchery’ Anna learns midwifery, becoming a giver of life; she goes deep down a lead mine having never done so before to help save the claim for the young girl who now holds it. Anna stands up to her drunken violent father, supports her Rector and saves lives. She can also ride a mighty horse.

All of these talents, skill and capacities, might seem super human in the abstract, but fit seamlessly into this engrossing story by that rarest of creatures, a journalist turned wonderful novelist. Geraldine Brooks is Australian to boot, though like many predecessors from Clive James to Peter Carey has found success overseas rather than here, in Brooks’ case reporting from war zones, especially in the Middle East. Latterly she has lived in the United States. The ending of Year of Wonders, while unexpected, is not nearly as much of a shock as we might think, knowing that Brooks’ had written an earlier astonishing book, Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women, about her experience associating with a rich variety of Islamic women in the Middle East learning about how they really live their lives.

Among other things Year of Wonders is about faith- or the lack of it. Brooks describes herself as a secular author and as such presents faith in many guises: exemplified by inspirational leadership in deeply troubled times, but also showing that faith can be fractious, intolerant and superstitious, understandable in this era. The plague of 1666 took place at a time when people did not know what caused it or how it was transmitted. There was no laboratory analysis, pharmaceutical production on an industrial scale, vaccines and boosters.

Those of strong faith, like the Rector Michael Mompellion, believe the pestilence is God’s will and responds accordingly, drawing strength from his religion and encouraging others to do likewise. But not all people of faith are equally welcome, the Quakers are isolated and there are references to the earlier battles with the popists. Mompellion specifically encourages a sacrificial burning of furniture as a gesture to cleanse the community spirit, a community which is also beset by believers who punish themselves, engage in flagellation, act in ignorance and with suspicion, take advantage of the unworldly or simply seek to profit during these straightened times. It is bad to punish oneself for ones sins but worse to punish someone else for theirs, in the name of God.

This is a marvellous story, told with complete verisimilitude of language and life in a lead-mining, plague-ridden village in 1666, with characters you can readily see as you read about them, about an horrific time, out of which may come some good, especially for these who might otherwise have remained in their place in the social order, as they might have in more stable times. It is not surprising that Geraldine Brooks would write an historical novel which also says a great deal about faith, tolerance and understanding, especially of difference, and new ways of seeing the world.

Historical fiction about an isolated English village suffering from an outbreak of the bubonic plague in 1665-1666. Protagonist Anna Frith, a widow with two small children, works as a maid for the rector and his wife. She is poor and uneducated, but smart and kind. She has a passion for learning and develops a close friendship with the rector’s wife. Many villagers believe the plague is the wrath of God. Some turn to superstitions, punishing “witches” and wearing talismans. The rector is religiously zealous and attempts to guide the village in containing the deadly disease.

The writing is lyrical, evoking a time and place. Brooks captures what life may have been like in those times, covering such topics as medical practices (primitive as they were), religious views, class status, and the plight of women in a restrictive society. As an example of the writing style, this passage describes the onset of the plague:

“The fair young face of the evening before was gone from the pallet in front of me. George Viccars lay with his head pushed to the side by a lump the size of a newborn piglet, a great, shiny, yellow-purple knob of pulsing flesh. His face, half turned away from me because of the excrescence, was flushed scarlet, or rather, blotched, with shapes like rings of rose petals blooming under his skin. His blond hair was a dark, wet mess upon his head, and his pillow was drenched with sweat. There was a sweet, pungent smell in the garret. A smell like rotting apples.”

The first three-fourths of the novel are very well crafted. The storyline goes a bit far afield toward the end, but it serves as a much-needed break from the numerous tragedies. The book shows how adversity brings out the best and worst of human nature and how fear can lead to mistrust and mistreatment of others. Though this epidemic occurred hundreds of years ago, the message remains valid today.