Year of Wonders

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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 interesting read! I could not help but feel for Mae throughout the story. I was constantly worried what was going to happen to her and did not trust her father at all. At points I was almost scared to read on for fear of Mae’s life! This was a slow burning read where all the small events lead up to a dramatic finale. I kept hoping and praying that Mae would finally be free of that dreadful home but I hadn’t quite imagined events to unfold as they did.

But rather than flee, the terrified locals united behind their rector, The Rev William Mompesson. He argued that they should quarantine themselves, allowing nobody to enter or leave the village – fully knowing that many would not survive. If the story of Eyam sounds like a romantic novel, that’s because large parts of it were invented. The spirit of the story owes much to the imagination of Anna Seward, a noted 18th-century poet whose description of the plague – in a letter written in 1765 – appeared in an edition of her letters edited by Walter Scott, a historical novelist. Seward was the daughter of the village vicar, and had been powerfully moved by Mompesson’s letters. “Your heart will expand over this faithful picture of elevated worth,” she wrote. Yet most details of the story first appeared in writing only two centuries after the events they describe, when William Wood, a local historian and tax-collector, published a popular local history book, “The History and Antiquities of Eyam” (1842). Even Wood eventually grew concerned about the accuracy of these stories: later editions bore the title “Legends of the Plague” instead. Dit boek speelt zich af in de jaren 1655 - 1665 tijdens de laatste grote pestepidemie in Engeland. Er zijn drie vertelperspectieven. Een tijdens de epidemie, het dagboek van Wulfric en korte stukjes vanuit de vertelster, Leah. Eyam is around 160 miles from London and is a small country village, not the kind of place that the plague would have spread to generally – so what happened and how did it get there?A Ring of Roses, Darren Vallier, Dress Circle Records (STG1) 1996; first performed at the Savoy Theatre, 1997; Jasper Publishing 2004. [79] This book is set in the town (village) of Eyam in the 1660’s when the bubonic plague was sweeping through England. Eyam rose to fame for their measures of self-isolation at that time- meaning the plague was less likely to pass on to other towns/villages surrounding it. This was also a time where religion and witchcraft were warring heads with each other, and accusations of witchcraft arose.

By November, when the plague had claimed no more lives for some weeks, it was believed the outbreak was over. Some 260 lives had been claimed, according to church records. Eyam is a small village in England which lies within the Peak District National Park. At the time of the 2011 census the population was 969. The history of the plague in the village began in 1665 when a flea-infested bundle of cloth arrived from London Riley Grave-Stones: a Derbyshire story", published under a pseudonym in The London Magazine for January – June 1823. [55] An account of the plague in Eyam and the encounter between the author and a granddaughter of one of the victims, it is prefaced by lines purporting to come from a poem titled "The Plague of Eyam" and also contains the lyric "Eyam Banks". A Actually, figures differ with every account, but 260 died, which was more than twice the fatalities suffered in London at the time.

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Johan is Isabel's husband, and has to travel to London when his ward's missing mother has been discovered. He risks going to the capital, to support his close friend. was not a good year for England with bubonic plague killing 100,000 people followed by The Great Fire of London which destroyed 80% of London or about 13,000 homes. It is hard for us to conceive of a disease that can show up one day and within a few short months kill 75% of the people we know. To survive is fortuitous, but to actually acquire the disease and survive is nothi

A three point plan was established and agreed with the villagers. The most important part of this was the setting up of a Cordon Sanitaire or quarantine. This line went around the outskirts of the village and no Eyam resident was allowed to pass it. Signs were erected along the line to warn travellers not to enter. During the time of the quarantine there were almost no attempts to cross the line, even at the peak of the disease in the summer of 1666. Eyam was not a self supporting village. It needed supplies. To this end the village was supplied with food and essentials from surrounding villages. The Earl of Devonshire himself provided supplies that were left at the southern boundary of the village. To pay for these supplies the villagers left money in water troughs that were filled with vinegar. With the limited understanding they did possess, the villagers realised that vinegar helped to kill off the disease. Author Geraldine Brooks tells this story through the eyes of Anna, a young widow with 2 very small children to support. Anna's role in helping Michael Mompellion and his high born wife Elinor shines the light on all that was the very best of human nature during a time of crisis, as well as what was the very worst in human beings stretched physically, emotionally and spiritually beyond their endurance. Brooks married the two extremes so well, weaving a highly readable tale of immense pain, degradation, fear, and ultimately faith. I was appalled later, (when I googled Eyam), to learn that many of the incidences Brooks used in the book were true. Human beings definitely have the capacity for both extreme nobility of spirit, as well as extreme barbarism.

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 trust Wulfric at all. She has even been branded a witch by him. And then the plague threatens to come to Eyam… This is still an academic nonfiction text, but a lot more accessible (and short!) if those Cohn books are overwhelming (or just not your cup of tea). This was the first book on the Plague I read and I still think it’s a nice intro. Years of Wonder: A Novel of the Plague by pulitzer prize winning Geraldine Brooks Hoewel dit boek qua premisse helemaal mijn ding zou moeten zijn vond ik het wat all over the place. Het rare perspectief van Leah had weinig meerwaarde en er zijn heel veel plotlijnen die slechts traag worden afgehandeld. Tegen het midden van het boek weet je nog altijd precies niets en dat was redelijk frustrerend. The Roses of Eyam by Don Taylor; first performed 1970, broadcast on TV in 1973; [69] published by Heinemann, 1976. [70]

Suddenly as Christmas approached it was over, with the last death, that of Abraham Morten being recorded at the beginning of November 1666. He was the 260th person to die. The small village of Eyam in the Derbyshire Dales then quietly took its place in history, as an enduring example of ordinary people making one of the most heroic acts of self-sacrifice in British folklore. Eyam Museum was opened in 1994 and, besides its focus on the plague, includes exhibits on the village's local history in general. Among the art exhibits there are painted copies from different eras of a print (taken from a drawing by Francis Chantrey) in Ebenezer Rhodes' Peak Scenery (1818). These depict the sweep of the road by the 'plague cottages' where the first victims died, with the church tower beyond. [28] The local amateur John Platt painted in naive style and is represented by depictions of the Riley Graves (1871) [29] and the old windmill (1874). [30] Eyam Banks", an anonymously authored lyric that accompanied an account of the plague published in 1823. [50]

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They would meet people from the ‘outside world’ to collect food and provisions at a boundary stone and Mompesson’s Well. Hoare, Edward Newenham (28 March 1881). "The Brave Men of Eyam, Or, A Tale of the Great Plague Year". Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge – via Google Books. It's so easy for characters like Wulfric to be on their pedestal, praised for their work; and never looking too close at his own sins.