**“Plague stories remind us that we cannot manage without community . . . Year of Wonders is a testament to that very notion.” – The Washington Post
An unforgettable tale, set in 17th century England, of a village that quarantines itself to arrest the spread of the plague, from the author The Secret Chord and of March, winner of the Pulitzer Prize**
When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated village, a housemaid named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer. Through Anna’s eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition. As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love. As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a “year of wonders.”
Inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in the rugged hill country of England, Year of Wonders is a richly detailed evocation of a singular moment in history. Written with stunning emotional intelligence and introducing “an inspiring heroine” (The Wall Street Journal), Brooks blends love and learning, loss and renewal into a spellbinding and unforgettable read.
A beautifully written, heartbreaking story of real-life horrors and unconquerable hope.
This astounding book places you in the middle ages during the black plague and yet the characters are so relatable. What a feat! I admire the craft and heart that went into writing this excellent, lyrical book. Go Geraldine, go!
Wow! This one is a solid Wow. Love the voice most of all. It captures the time period just enough as to not overpower the prose and yet enough to totally immerse me in the Fictive Dream. The point of view character is in first person and mostly told in narrative and not in scene. Which doesn’t matter because of the great voice in the prose that I clung to like a sailor, months at sea on a life raft desperate for water. I couldn’t get enough of this book that ticks all the boxes for me a great historical that is definitely going up in the top five books of the year.
The author writes with such authority the question of credibility is moot. The words and sentence structure of the time period are wonderful. I don’t know how the author accomplished it with such command of story and character. An absolute wonderful book.
For those readers who crave more of McCammon’s Mathew Corbett books, Speaks of The Night Bird and Queen of Bedlam, this book is McCammon but with more intense prose.
David Putnam author of The Bruno Johnson series.
Well, the title of the book says it all – it is a novel about the plague. Told from the view of a widowed house-girl for the local priest and his wife, there is much sickness, death, craziness, isolation, self-flagellation, burning, more death and finally healing, redemption and then a journey [because this one family is filled with horrible, self-absorbed, mean-spirited, vindictive, selfish spirits and unfortunately didn’t die in the plague] and new life; which I guess is appropriate at the end of a year long plague.
For the most part, I really enjoyed this book [even though it was about the plague, which says A LOT about how amazing Geraldine Brooks’ writing is] and it wasn’t until the end that I was somewhat disappointed and didn’t like the turn the story took, and that spoiled some of the story for me. If not for that, it would have been a 5-star read for me. Still, this is an excellent read and I highly recommend it [and all of her books].
Since most news relates to the Covid-19 virus these days, it’s a good time to learn from the past. Geraldine Brooks, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, gives a fascinating fictionalized account of how a village in England handled an outbreak of bubonic plague. For an older novel based on eyewitness accounts, see Daniel Defoe’s “A Journal of the Plague Year.”
A tale of a brave young woman during the plague in 1666 England. A good read and fascinating story based on an English village that quarantined itself when plague was brought to their town. The story is told through the voice of a strong young woman, Anna Frith. Although the subject matter seems grim, it is a wonderful story of a village coming together during a time of devastation.
I couldn’t stop reading! Great story!
Although set in the 1600’s this story of a village that cuts itself off from the rest of the country resonates with what currently is going on with Covid in our country.
An especially poignant book to read during COVID, Year of Wonders follows a young widow through quarantine in her 17th century English village. I read this when we were in the middle of quarantine in the United States. It was a good way to put our own situation into perspective. Although Year of Wonders is a work of fiction, the town of Eyam did go into voluntary quarantine and suffer terrible loss of life during a season of the Plague.
One of my favorite books. So beautifully written. Such a heartbreaking story……and it’s about the plague in Europe so applicable to our current condition.
Historical, informative, interesting. One of those I re-read periodically.
Great historical fiction capturing what it must have been like to live with the plague epidemic.
Brilliant story, brilliant characters, exquisitely poetical writing.
Anna finds herself widowed, childless and bereaved again and again from the plague. Her strong, empathetic character keeps her going, and keeps us enthralled, as she observes the slow destruction of her village, quarantined from the outside world.
It is truly a book of wonders. I loved every page!
I am a historical fiction junkie. Year of Wonders is one of the best I’ve read. I have always been fascinated by this time in history and the trauma and tragedy of the Plague, not only does this book deliver deeply in the human suffering of this time period, it does so with wonderful dialogue and time appropriate vocabulary. As I read, I felt a uniquely authentic bond to the time period and story. I don’t say this often, but this is a book I would LOVE to see made into a movie or series!
Covid in 16th century
I have never read this author, so requested a sample of this book, which was recommended to me. I read the entire sample and was so hooked, I immediately bought the book so I could continue to read. Anna is a great character, and her experiences are heart-rending. Highly recommend! A first rate read!
Geraldine Brooks never disappoints. One of her best. A look into history as the plaque devastated Europe.
This book moved me so much that I blogged about it. It is, of course, from the brilliant Geraldine Brooks, thus expertly written and researched, but beyond that, it is apropos for these times. An imagined record of a small English village struggling to survive the plague, it describes much of the human behavior we are now experiencing- arguments about how to handle a quarantine, arguments against scientific protocol. Death and loss, financially and spiritually. What really struck me was the depiction of a village which, once it determined that the prudent course of action was to unite or succumb, chose to unite their efforts. Highly, highly recommend.
I think this is one of my favourite books of all time. I read it years ago, before the situation of 2020 and it would be even more interesting now. Based on a true story as well, which is something I enjoy.
in this time of quarantine and social isolation, this book brings historical significance to public health and safety.