The Hemlock Cure, Joanne Burn
The Hemlock Cure, Joanne Burn
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
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The Hemlock Cure

Author: Joanne Burn

Narrator: Kristin Atherton

Unabridged: 10 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/07/2022

Synopsis

A glitteringly dark historical novel of love, persecution, and survival set against the backdrop of one of history’s most terrifying episodes: the Bubonic PlagueIt is 1665 and the women of Eyam village keep many secrets. Especially Isabel and Mae.Isabel Frith, the village midwife, walks a dangerous line with her herbs and remedies. There are men in the village who speak of witchcraft, and Isabel has a past to hide. So she tells nobody her fears about the pious, reclusive apothecary, on whom she is keeping a watchful eye.Mae, the apothecary’s youngest daughter, dreads her father’s rage if he discovers what she keeps from him: her feelings for Rafe, Isabel’s ward, or the fact that she studies from her father’s books at night.But others have secrets too. Secrets darker than any of them could have imagined.When Mae makes a horrifying discovery, Isabel is the only person she can turn to. But helping Mae will place them both in unimaginable peril. Meanwhile another danger is on its way from London. One that threatens to engulf them all …

About Joanne Burn

Joanne Burn lives in the Peak District of England, where she is a writing coach. Her first novel, Petals and Stones, was published by Little Brown UK. The Hemlock Cure is her first novel to be published in America.

About Kristin Atherton

Kristin Atherton is a voice talent and audiobook narrator. She is a talented actress who has performed at National Theatre Live and for the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has been cast in the role of Jamie Fraser’s sister Jenny Murray in the second half of Outlander Season 7 on STARZ. She was born in 1986 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.

Reviews

Goodreads review by bookishcharli on January 16, 2022

This wonderful book is based on true events that happened in 1666’s England during the plague where a whole village, Eyam, quarantined itself in an attempt to slow the number of deaths occurring from the plague, and let me tell you, after the last two years this book certainly makes for an interesti......more

Goodreads review by Thebooktrail on January 17, 2022

Get this on your TBR pile because... This peaked my interest as it is inspired by the true story of the so-called ‘plague village’ of Eyam in Derbyshire. Eyam has a very interesting claim to fame. It is the village a the centre of the plague out break in 1665. The villagers of Eyam decided to cordo......more

Goodreads review by Martin on August 25, 2021

What could have been just another book about how witches lived in the 17th century turned out to be quite satisfying. "The Hemlock Cure" is based on actual events that took place in a small English village in 1666, during the Great Plague, when the village virtually quarantined itself in an attempt t......more

Goodreads review by Annelies - In Another Era on February 13, 2022

Mae lives alone with her father, the village pharmacist, in the English town of Eyam after her mother and sister Leah both died. Mae’s father Wulfric is strict and doesn’t know that his daughter is secretly visiting Isabel, the village midwife. Isabel was Mae’s mother’s best friend and does not trus......more

Goodreads review by Karen on December 31, 2021

I have to say, this book really surpassed expectations. Set in Eyam, Derbyshire, in 1666, the story revolves around the village that decided to quarantine itself after fleas carrying bubonic plague were brought in on a bale of cloth from London. This is true - the village really did seal itself off......more

Quotes

“An intricate, detailed, and beautifully written story of the women of Eyam. It’s vivid and poetic, powerfully building tension as their secrets unravel.” Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times bestselling author

“An exquisitely written tale of resilience and reckoning, with female protagonists that are just the right blend of compassion and simmering rebellion.” Sonia Velton, author of Blackberry and Wild Rose

“Artfully written and nuanced, The Hemlock Cure is a carefully researched take on Eyam’s sad history, with a rich cast of characters that keep you turning the page.” Susan Stokes-Chapman, author of Pandora

“Propels the reader into the seventeenth century. These are not powerless women but women with their own sense of ambition and destiny.” Rhiannon Ward, author of The Quickening

“In a wholly original take on the Eyam story, Joanne Burn’s elegant prose, rich in authentic detail, results in a rewarding and timely read.” Sarah Burton, author of The Strange Adventures of H

“This page-turning novel delves deep into danger. The darkest threats, we learn, come not from illness or contagion, but from cruelties encompassed by those closest to us. The writing is beautiful, full of scents, sounds and texture.” Annie Garthwaite, author of Cecily

“A beautiful, bewitching and powerful tale of brave women’s lives. I absolutely loved it.” Roz Watkins, author of The Devil’s Dice

“Deeply unsettling, tense, yet ultimately hopeful, The Hemlock Cure sweeps the reader up into its potions, scents, [colors] and secrets. It is affecting and beautifully observed—a mesmerizing novel.” Rosie Andrews, author of The Leviathan

“Spellbinding and profound, The Hemlock Cure is a dazzling act of reclamation of the truth of womenʼs lives. Burn writes beautifully about female courage and retribution, of the ties that make and bind a family, and different ways of belonging. A compassionate and intensely moving novel that is rich in meaning and hugely resonant for our own plague-struck era.” Nikki Marmery, author of On Wilder Seas

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