Year of Wonders By, Gerladine Brooks

Based on the "Great Plague which lasted fron 1665 to 1666, which was the last major epademic of the bubonic plague to occur in England. The plague killed an estimated 100,000 people-almost a quarter of London's population in 18 months."- The National Archives

This was an interesting, historically based novel on the "Great Plague"  written in 2001 by Gerladine Brooks and at this time, could not be more felicitous. This book is extremely well written even though the subject matter could be considered dry and daunting given the current state of affairs. I thought the Author humanized the experience, by telling the story from the point of view of Anna Frith, a housemaid for the vicar.

The novel is based on the story of Eyam, a small rural village in the remote foothills of England. The Author chose to focus on this area because the town chose voluntary isolation to protect neighbors and the world at large to protect others.

In a journal entry by Samuel Pepys when describing plague victims, "The houses of plague victims were sealed and guarded, locking in the well with the ill, with no one to bring them food, water or comfort of any kind. Pepys writes that you could hear the cries of the afflicted coming from the houses, which were marked with large red crosses and the words, "God have Mercy."

There is a current debate in the blog-o-sphere and book world as to why people, like myself turn to historical fiction to further emphasize the current horrific state of affairs. I enjoy reading the 'history of anything' to see where we have been and where we are now. Books like these, illuminate the current landscape of fear and horror brought on by the pandemic. But, they also offer an opportunity to reflect on how our past infiltrates -seamlessly into the future.

A quote from Anna on a Year of Wonder, "These memories of happiness are fleeting things, reflections in a stream, glimpsed all broken for a second, and then swept away in the current of grief that is our life now.I can't say that I ever feel what it felt like then, when I was happy. But sometimes something will touch the place where that feeling was, a touch as slight and swift as the brush of a moth's wing in the dark."

Other Books by Gerladine Brooks:
The Secret Chord 2015
Caleb's Crossing 2011
People of the Book 2008
March 2006