- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Fourth Estate (2 July 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1841154571
- ISBN-13: 978-1841154572
- Product Dimensions: 19 x 14 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 975,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Year of Wonders
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Geraldine Brooks's Year of Wonders describes the 17th-century plague that is carried from London to a small Derbyshire village by an itinerant tailor. As villagers begin, one by one, to die, the rest face a choice. Do they flee their village in the hope of outrunning the plague or do they stay? The lord of the manor and his family pack and leave. The rector, Michael Mompellion, argues forcefully that the villagers should stay put, isolate themselves from neighbouring towns and villages and prevent the contagion from spreading. His oratory wins the day and the village turns in on itself. Cocooned from the outside world and ravaged by the disease, its inhabitants struggle to retain their humanity in the face of the disaster. The narrator, a young widow called Anna Frith, is one of the few who succeeds. Together with Mompellion and his wife Elinor, she tends the dying and battles to prevent her fellow villagers from descending into drink, violence and superstition. All is complicated by the intense, unacknowledgeable feelings she develops for both the rector and his wife. Year of Wonderssometimes seems anachronistic as historical fiction. Anna and Mompellion can occasionally appear to be modern sensibilities unaccountably transferred to 17th-century Derbyshire. However there is no mistaking the power of Brooks's imagination or the skill with which she constructs her story of ordinary people struggling to cope with extraordinary circumstances.--Nick Rennison
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Review
'A Year of Wonders is a staggering fictional debut that matches journalistic accumulation of detail to natural narrative flair.' Guardian
‘A lyrically written and emotionally engaging novel.' Independent
'The plot is gripping, I like the psychological subtlety of characters struggling with a shifting world, and it’s packed with historical detail.' Daily Mail
Praise for Foreign Correspondence:
‘An evocative, superbly written tale of a woman’s journey to self-understanding.’
Kirkus Reviews
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Oh alright, I'll admit it: I got this free with The Times. As such I didn't expect much at all, given that life-changing reads tend to come on the ends of friends' arms or hidden in bookshops etc etc. Year of Wonders absolutely blew my socks off.
Brooks's writing plunges you straight into the fears, smells and surroundings of this village and its terrible encounter with the plague, while keeping you hanging onto the characters and their beautifully-developed problems and lives. A devastating sting in the tale seals a superb book off brilliantly.
Grab it for your holiday this summer - you'll race through it and can have the satisfaction of looking a cut above the pink bonkbuster readers too.
Brooks's writing plunges you straight into the fears, smells and surroundings of this village and its terrible encounter with the plague, while keeping you hanging onto the characters and their beautifully-developed problems and lives. A devastating sting in the tale seals a superb book off brilliantly.
Grab it for your holiday this summer - you'll race through it and can have the satisfaction of looking a cut above the pink bonkbuster readers too.
37 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Set in the Derbyshire countryside in 1666, THE YEAR OF WONDERS details the accounts of a small village ravaged by the Plague. Told exclusively from the first-person account of Anna Firth, a young hardworking widow and mother of two young children, who is employed in the residence of Michael Mompellion, the rector, and his wife, Elinor. After the Plague was incidentally transported to the village inside a bolt of fabric the disease spreads fast and eventually kills one third of the population of the village. The village voluntarily quarantines themselves from any outside contact in a hope to contain the infection. During these desperate months Anna takes it upon herself to help ease the pain of others. In her efforts she forges a strong friendship with Elinor while learning and studying natural remedies and therapies. Helping others aids her in helping ease the pain of her own loss to the Plague.
THE YEAR OF WONDERS is not a typical work of historical fiction. According to the book's Afterword this story was inspired by the true story of the villagers of Eyam, Derbyshire and their own historical account of the Plague. While hiking through the English countryside Geraldine Brooks encountered a finger post pointing the way to the 'Plague Village'. Months of painful research concluded in the writing of this book, and a recreation of how a village struggled against a deadly disease while trying to maintain social order. While Brooks took some liberties in the development of the plot, but some aspects are rooted in truth including several true identities and names. The title of the book reflects worldly events and the strong belief that God works in mysterious ways.
I only wish that Brooks included more social and historical background to the events that were simply alluded to. This would strengthen the plot and make reading more beneficial. Otherwise, I felt left in the dark when events such as the war with the Dutch were briefly mentioned. A very brief summary was included in the Afterword but it seemed too little too late. Otherwise, Brooks did a good job recreating the events occurring in Eyam during the Plague year of 1666.
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I found this book a great read and a revelation. It is a fictionalised account of the true story of a Derbyshire village struck down by the plague in 1666. The details of speech and local customs -right down to animal husbandry and the arcane rules of lead mining - are so well rendered it's hard to believe the author wasn't there. Yet despite these historical details the imprint of hours in the library does not hang heavy on the story. It is a gripping read, quite dark in places, sexy in others and gripping throughout. I learned a lot from it while being swept along by the suspense and the totally believable characters. There is an air of Bronte about it at times (although it is of a much earlier period)- and I mean that as the highest compliment.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Stunning historical fiction
I'm a historical fiction junkie, and this was a spectacular fix. Written about the time of the worst outbreak of the bubonic plague (1665) (although the outbreak of 1347-49 rivals... Read more
Published 7 days ago by Margaret Valerie Stone
Year of wonders
Not the best written book, but an easy and compelling read which kept my interest going. Bit of a disappointing ending but overall an enjoyable read.
Published 1 month ago by Mel
"What burden would we bear if, because of us, hundreds die who might...
Every so often I read a book that I don't want to end- one that completely absorbs me and results in me being unable to do anything else until I have finished it. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Nicola F (Nic)
Eyam - Plague Village
I've always been fascinated by Eyam and the story of the brave villagers cutting themselves off from the world to selflessly save others and this book really brought it all to... Read more
Published 3 months ago by JanBird&DebMeades
Undecided
This is a very specific book, about specific people, in a specific village at a time of great terror and pestilence in England. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jordan
Book
Great value for money, shame about the hole in the front cover but can not complain really for the price!
Published 4 months ago by D.Morant
Read many years ago but never forgotten
I first picked up this book as part of a 3 for 2 offer in a well known now defunct bookstore almost 10 years ago. Read more
Published 5 months ago by I. McFadyen
Real page turner but not a light read - recommend
I was given this book by my Mum as we used to live near Eyam. The story was good but is not for the faint-hearted - as it's set in the time of the Plague there are some graphic... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Tilly
Good read
Got this book on a recommendation.
V serious subject and quite grim in places, but it was very gripping and I couldn't put it down. Read more
V serious subject and quite grim in places, but it was very gripping and I couldn't put it down. Read more
Published 5 months ago by J
Hmmmmm. Mixed views but it is worth reading.
This was recommended to me by a colleague, and I read it from cover to cover last night. I have very mixed feelings about this book! Read more
Published 6 months ago by LeelooSmart
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