SARAH PENNER
THE LOST APOTHECARY
Publisher: Legend Press
Pages: 257
One word review: Spellbinding!
Goodreads: 3.76 [Subjected to change]
Did you know?
Sarah Penner is the debut author of The Lost Apothecary which has been sold into eleven territories worldwide.
Favorite Lines From Book
Killing and secret-keeping had done this to me. It had begun to rot me from the inside out, and something inside meant to tear me to open.
THE LOST APOTHECARY is a fiction novel portraying the lives of three intrepid women who lived timelines apart. As you can see, the cover in itself is convincing enough to make you purchase this book. The story is interestingly unusual and simply fascinating. With individual chapters dedicated to the three characters and interchanging timelines interwoven with connecting plots, the novel is an intriguing and thrilling read.
I had no siblings, few friends to speak of. The life of an apothecary is a strange, solitary one.
The story begins with Nella, an old lady from the late eighteenth century. She is an apothecary turned surreptitious poison dispenser for wretched women; women whose trust has been betrayed, whose hearts were broken. Every chapter that we encounter about Nella, divulges the mysterious past about her life. Certainly, Nella in itself could have had a novel completely dedicated to her. We learn about her clandestine occupation, basically deriving poisons from medicine or rather described as, medicine is nothing but poison in moderate amounts.
Little remnants of history, all the way back to Roman era, can be found right here in the mud if you go searching long enough.
The central character to this intricately woven plot is Caroline, a contemporary woman in the twenty first century with ambitious but forgotten dreams. She is on her anniversary trip to London and has no clue that this trip is going to completely turn her abysmal life upside down for good. Caroline's life is a wreck and she ends up making her anniversary trip alone but on her own volition. Amidst her lachrymose state that she is in, desolately navigating the streets of London, a mudlarking activity in the river Thames piques her bygone interest and sets her on a path to uncover the enigmatic past events, two centuries behind.
Twelve minutes. A fraction of a lifetime, yet enough to alter the course of it.
In the eighteenth century tale, the narration partly switches to Eliza, a plucky teen, hailing from the bucolic village life and who now is a servant to an opulent mistress in the city of London. Eliza's and Nella's path crosses over and we see a heartwarming friendship forming but only to realize that it wrecks disaster to their very own lives. What happened to both of them, and how Caroline unwraps this enchanting historical event from the eighteenth century, in her timeline is the remainder of the story told with twists and miseries.
This was precisely what I found so enchanting about history: centuries might separate me from whomever last held the vial, but we shared in the exact sensation of its cool glass between our fingers.
This is a story with three plots about three courageous women, each one a life-changing catalyst to the respective individuals. The Lost Apothecary, is an enchanting tale told with captivating narration switching between two different timelines that you must never miss out.
Verdict: An Enigmatic Time Travel!
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MaddiE's Note:
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