Year of Wonders

Penned by the esteemed Pulitzer Prize laureate behind 'March' and 'People of the Book', this gripping tale unfolds in the fateful year of 1666. It chronicles a young woman's valiant struggle to preserve her family and her very essence amidst a devastating plague that befalls a quaint Derbyshire village.

As the pestilence ravages London, forcing the royal court to seek refuge in Oxford and Samuel Pepys to flee to Greenwich, the northern reaches of England remain unscathed. That is, until a seemingly innocuous bolt of cloth arrives in a small community of leadminers and hill farmers. Unbeknownst to the local tailor, the damp fabric harbours a deadly secret: bubonic infection.

Thus begins the 'Year of Wonders', wherein a Pennine hamlet of merely 350 souls grapples with an incomprehensible and irremediable scourge. In their desperation, the villagers turn to arcane practices: sorcery, herbal remedies, and the brutal pursuit of alleged witches. Guided by a charismatic young preacher, they make the fateful decision to quarantine themselves, sealing their own tragic fate.

This poignant narrative is recounted through the eyes of Anna Frith, a mere 18 years of age, who must confront the loss of her family, the unravelling of her community, and the allure of a perilous and forbidden attraction.

Geraldine Brooks' novel is a masterful exploration of love and knowledge, terror and zealotry, and the clash between 17th-century science and faith in the face of a seemingly diabolical pestilence. 'Year of Wonders' stands as a eloquent tribute to the real-life Derbyshire villagers who chose to endure their suffering in isolation during England's final great plague.

Product Information:

Book ISBN:	9781841154589
Book Weight:	228g