The Lost Apothecary, Sarah Penner
This is one of those books written from three points of view, and it jumps back and forth between present day and the late 1700s. It took me a few chapters to get into it with the jumping around, but it turned out to be a really interesting read. It starts with Caroline, a married woman who has travelled alone from the United States to England, on what was supposed to be a 10 year wedding anniversary trip, but she just found out her husband was having an affair with a coworker, so she went alone to grieve and breathe and try to figure out what to do next. She meets up with a mudlarking guide to takes her to the River Thames for some fun in the mud: if you don't know what mudlarking is, The River Thames has had all kinds of things dumped in it for centuries if not millennia, and the tide uncovers new things constantly, from pipes to bottles to jewelry, dolls, you name it, and you can find it. (Look up mudlarking on Facebook --Nicola White is one who makes videos---it's fascinating and I am so jealous of those who get to do it) Anyway, Caroline finds a small glass bottle with a bear etched on it, and it sparks her interest. Being a history major, she delves into research at the library and makes friends with Gaynor, a young woman employed there, and who helps her uncover some interesting information about where the bottle might have come from.
Flashing back to the past, we meet Nella, a very special apothecary, who not only makes treatments for women, but also creates poisons for women to give to the men in their lives who have betrayed them, abused them, or raped them. Although she has kept this a secret to the public, word has spread in secret circles that if you want to get rid of your man, Nella's shop is where you come.
A young girl, Eliza, comes into her shop to retrieve a poison for use on her master, who has sexually assaulted her, and her mistress has sent her there not only to retrieve it, but to receive instruction on how to administer it. And thus begins an unusual friendship between Eliza and Nella.
It's a book with dark themes, and interestingly enough, the author places it near Fleet Street (think Sweeney Todd the demon barber and a similar business---well sort of).But it's also a story of how people choose to cope with the trauma that they have had to endure--some choose murder, or retaliation, while others choose to let go and pick up the pieces and move on, and some find someone to hold on to who understands how hard it is to deal with the pain.
I also noticed that the author used the idea of maiden, mother, and crone with the main characters, which is symbolic in witchcraft, and she did show the difference between magick and pharmaceuticals, both which use things in nature, such as herbs, but one is for natural uses and the other is for supernatural uses.
She fleshed out the characters well, and I was able to empathize with them and the struggles they were going through, even though poisoning people is definitely way more extreme than what anyone should ever consider as an option---but at that time, women had little to no advocacy, if they were violated, there was nothing anyone would or could do for them. So I get why they might have taken things into their own hands. I am just glad that we don't need to consider that as an option now. If you are ever in a position where you need to leave to be safe, you have options. Run away and call out for help. Call the police, a helpline, a friend, a church, a hospital. Find help. That's the best thing you can do for yourself.
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