Set against the rural backdrop of the suspicious times the plague of the 1600s (lots of parallels to our world in 2021!) we meet Mae who lives alone with her mercurial father while secretly being taught to work with herbs and remedies by her late mum's friend. When the plague arrives in their village, the pace doesn't pick up - it's a bit of a slow burn read and one to enjoy in the winter months. I enjoyed the use of Maes late sister as the narrator and the references to herbs. Painstakingly researching and written.

I was really looking forward to this one as I love Eyam. I had imagined a sort of increasingly claustrophobic book about feeling trapped in a small community, tensions running high because of being stuck together etc. But in fact the book could have been set in any small village at that time. The tensions in the story are really nothing to do with Eyam, nothing to do with being trapped together. Felt like such a waste of a fantastic premise!

I was given an ARC copy of The Hemlock Cure in exchange for an honest review of the book. Set in the plague-ridden and locked down village of Eyam during the 1660s the novel highlights the historical persecution of women and girls believed to be witches. I enjoyed the vivid characterisations of the key players in this book and the pathos inspired towards the victims of the superstitions and familial brutality of the age.. For all the violence and dramatic tension throughout, I have to admit to being a little disappointed with the ending, which I felt would have been a stroke of genius had the outcome been more ‘miserable’. Overall, though, a good read.

I have to admit I was sceptical when I read in the author's bio that she is working as a writing coach although this is only her second book. Unfortunately the book is written in present tense, except when it slips into past tense as these inevitably do, and that makes for a hard read, especially in historical fiction.

The story itself had the elements to be interesting. It takes place in the 17th century and is about a talented herbalist and the difficulties of a woman in this profession living in a patriarchal time of religious reformation.

Unfortunately, that writing style just isn't for me and I couldn't get immersed in the book.

It’s extremely rare that I give up in a book but sadly I struggled with this one and stopped around a third of the way in.
I was excited to read it as I’d studied “the plague village” of Eyam as a child and visited it, but the book was extremely slow with a lot of characters whose purpose was not clear and I just was not enjoying it.

Historical fiction peppered with witchcraft, wise-women and apothecaries is something I am here for, and I was excited to start this one. Burn throws into the mid-1600s and shows us a village on the cusp of a visit from the Great Plague. Our protagonist is the daughter of the local apothecary, with strong ambitions to become his apprentice, despite her father’s lack of desire for this to ever happen. Tensions are high at home, with only the two of them, and we’re allowed to see the present day presented alongside her father’s diary entries from when her mother was still alive.

Despite the above sounding like something I was ready to plunge immediately into, I had real problems connecting and engaging with the plot. Burn’s initial introduction of her characters confused me, and I had no real idea who was who within the story. The plot is incredibly slow, with huge amounts of focus on listing names of herbs, tinctures, and their effects on the human body, and although I am astounded by the research which was put into this, it definitely made my eyes water - I just wanted something to happen.

I did enjoy the social commentary here. With the plague rampaging its way through the village, and the villagers knocking the door of the apothecary daily, it was interesting to see that their strongest beliefs lay in their religion, and the conviction that prayer and piety would save them above any medicine.

An interesting look at a foregone pandemic whilst reading with the defeated experience of 2021; I just felt we could have benefited from a tighter plot, fewer characters, and a cull on the number of potion recipes we’ve unwittingly learned.

A novel of historical fiction inspired by real life

Eyam in Derbyshire really was known as the Plague village
Mae in the novel narrates life in the village which shut itself off from the outside world to try and save themselves and others from the deadly plague. Social distancing and lock down 1660 style. Shame this is a lesson history does not seem to have learned. Not sure who would be so selfless today as to lock the entire community in to protect others...

This is also a story about women at that time and the suspicion that many would be suspected of witchcraft just because they tried to create alternative medicines. Mae was a great narrator and the novel felt like a breath of fresh air mixing fact and fiction.

I was very invested in this story, being a Derbyshire lass and having visited Eyam and felt the haunting atmosphere of the "plague village" that legend says sacrificed themselves for the sake of surrounding areas. I'm reality, I'm sure there were many that had little choice in the matter as they were pretty destitute and had nowhere to go, particularly when surrounding cities and communities effectively blocked anyone passing out of the village. However, this is more a story about the villagers within the community, particularly the village midwife and the apothecarist and his family, both central to the medical needs of the village.

At times in this book I felt the narrative was disjointed, it took some time for me to grasp who the narrator was and between that, diary entries and other narratives it didn't just flow quite as well to me. There was a build up of tension and fear which blended well with the sense of foreboding over the plague. I also enjoyed reading about the use of tonics, tinctures and herbal medicine to treat ailments and how there is still much of both that, and the childbirth practices, in use today but delivered as accepted medicine rather than "witchcraft" as it was seen by some of a religious belief back then.
It has a realism that was easy to visualise and I feel it highlights how difficult the lives of women in particular was despite their intelligence and skills.
Perhaps it's a story I need to reread to fully appreciate all of the characters and what was happening between them all again.

🌟B O O K R E V I E W🌟

The Hemlock Cure - Joanne Burn

𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝟏𝟔𝟔𝟓 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐲𝐚𝐦 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬.

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 𝐖𝐮𝐥𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬, 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐲.

𝐌𝐚𝐞, 𝐖𝐮𝐥𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜'𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐚𝐟𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐖𝐮𝐥𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜'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.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧. 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐥 . . .

I read this as my most anticipated read for #netgalleynovember and I wasn’t disappointed!

‘𝐎𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐭…𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞…𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞.
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐲𝐚𝐦.’

Oh this is just a fantastic book! Plague, religion, fear, love and oh my word I was rooting for the women in this story.

‘𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧; 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐲. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬.’

It is difficult to read about how women were treated and perceived in these times. With modern eyes, it is easy to be damning of how people behaved and what they thought and believed, but in some ways it is no different now, when you look at the variety of opinions on Covid and what people believe regarding that disease.

‘𝐌𝐚𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐨….𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞.’

Witchcraft, spells and religious fervour all seem extreme to us now, but it must have been hugely frightening at the time with people, particularly women living in fear. Let alone how death could take you so easily without our modern day medicine.

‘𝐎𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐈’𝐦 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦.’

This book was just spellbinding, it is written so well, I could really feel the fear that these people felt, my heart was thumping and I raced through this, desparate to know how it ended for these people, especially Mae and Isabel.

Captivating, wonderful, perfect!

✩✩✩✩✩

Thanks to #netgalley for my copy of this book.

Having visited Eyam several times and studied it's historic story of how the village famously shut itself off during the plague of 1666, I was immediately intrigued by this novel.

The author has done a wonderful job of researching the period of history, and many character's are taken from the historic village, which she notes at the back of the book. However, this did make it difficult reading and it took me a while to really get into the book and the characters.

Centring round the women of the village,the novel touches on the ever present fear of midwives and 'wise' women of being accused of witchcraft. There was definitely an undercurrent of evil throughout the book and by the end, I was definitely rooting for the women of the story to succeed!

All in all, I did enjoy reading this and I thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for receiving an ERC in exchange for an honest review.

I had no prior knowledge about the plague and how it dessimated London. It follows tails of a family with darkness and fear at their core. It reads like a history book which I enjoyed. I didn't find the characters particularly relatable.

A good historical novel about Eyam, and London in the Plague Times., in the seventeenth century. This novel brings history to life and centres mainly upon the relationship between Isabel and Mae.
In the beginning, I thought it might be a little too in-depth but as the story went on, I became more involved in the story, very enjoyable,

Having visited Elam I was really excited to read this book based on characters and events during the Plague. It is very atmospheric and gives an excellent sense of how it was to live in those times, especially as a woman. Life was hard and joy was rare. A really interesting read made all the more vivid knowing the places mentioned.

Set in the village of Eyam in 1666. The plague is all around and the precarious lives of the women of that time is brought into focus. It is a constant fear to be accused of being a witch. Rather slow to start with but an interesting and different read. I felt that the book got more interesting from about half way through.

The Hemlock Cure is set in the English village of Eyam, Derbyshire, during the plague year of 1666. The village famously shut itself off from visitors during the Black Death, thus halting the spread of the plague in the area, at great cost to the villagers’ lives.

Centred around the fictitious village midwife, Isabel, this novel draws on folkloric knowledge of herbal cures and the accusations of witchcraft which were prevalent in those times to add extra layers to an already poignant and powerful history. Many of the additional characters are drawn from real life and many of those names can be found on gravestones within Eyam’s churchyard. Living nearby, and familiar with the area, I was instantly intrigued with this novel.

Sadly I found the story to drag and the pacing felt lumbered, so I couldn’t fully connect with the novel — unlike Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks, also set in Eyam in 1966. Even though there was the addition of more witchy elements, which I usually love, I just found this novel to be slow for me. I appreciate the amount of research the author has obviously gone into to fully situate her story and I liked the portrayal of village life back then, particularly during a plague (as I read it in the middle of a pandemic!). It was an okay read for me but others may find it more absorbing. I think I just wanted more from it.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher, Little, Brown Book Group UK, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Set in the notorious plague town of Eyam, Joanne Burn’s novel The Hemlock Cure evokes the quiet horror of a village struck down with the Black Death.

The plot follows Mae as she endeavours to further her medical education under the cruel eye of her devoutly religious father. We follow the villagers of Eyam as they deal with the complexities the plague brings to their lives.
While much happens within these pages it’s a tense and slow burn with deep rooted history between the characters motivating their actions.

Interestingly, the novel is narrated by Mae’s sister who has passed away before the events of the novel. It is a fascinating narration choice and one I enjoyed in the moments when it was most relevant. I sometimes found myself forgetting this narration choice and remembering only when the writing specifically reminded me which was sometimes jarring. However, it doesn’t overshadow the novel and for some readers I think this will add depth to the narration.

Overall, I really enjoyed the atmosphere and characters in this novel.

Not sure why but just didn't click with this book. Found it rather slow going and dragged a bit. Well researched, granted, a story based on true events but I just found my attention wandering which was a shame as from the premise I thought I would really enjoy it

It would seem the people of Eyam in the 1600s had more sense than some current governments,and placed themselves under strict quarantine whilst the plague rampage.
This is the fact that the story is woven around.
Throw in talk of witchcraft,herbal cures,religion,and some sinister goings on,and you've got a really good story.
The book was filled with characters I was rooting for,Isabel,Mae and Rafe particularly.

Well narrated from multiple viewpoints,and diary entries,it gave a perfectly rounded story.

Very very enjoyable.

Quite a story! Eyam in 1665 brought to life.

This novel centers mainly on three families living in Eyam during the Plague of 1665. Rather than concentrate on the dying and Eyam’s role in preventing the spread of the disease, the book deals mainly with the characters of Mae, Isabel and their families. It’s a story about humanity, religious fanaticism, superstition and hope. As it’s character-led, these are well-developed while the plot moves along at a good pace. There’s no doubt that the book is well-researched and I learned a lot from it. There are many nice touches and I would recommend it to any lover of good historical fiction. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A book of witches, of an English village in 1666, a plague and of real events which happened in this time. All this makes for a great book which has been so well researched and you can feel the intenseness in this book in every page.

It brings together religion, superstition, spiritualism, sickness, healing and of course family and personal relationships. The characters are very interesting and I enjoyed the connection between Mae and Isabel as well as Mae's father.

It was at times a bit slow going but all in all it is a very interesting read with many layers, twists and turns and a great storyline. It took me in to a world I have never known and showed me what it was like to live in those times now long gone.