Year of Wonders

I read this for book club. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have picked it up. And that would've been a shame. 

I was surprised to read about the plague in the middle ages while living through a global pandemic. There were so many parallels. 

And to learn in the author's notes that the story is based on truth and fact. A real town underwent quarantine once they were infected so as not to infect the entire region. And while they succeeded in their goal, most of their town perished. The historic details are impeccable. 

You follow one woman's story in the town. You see the lives she touches and how the plague affects them all. 

There are many twists and turns. 

The biggest twist was that the author is the narrator for the audio book. She does a marvelous job. 

AMAZON

An unforgettable tale, set in 17th century England, of a village that quarantines itself to arrest the spread of the plague, from the author The Secret Chord and of March, winner of the Pulitzer Prize 

When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated village, a housemaid named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition. As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love. As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders."

Inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in the rugged hill country of England, Year of Wonders is a richly detailed evocation of a singular moment in history. Written with stunning emotional intelligence and introducing "an inspiring heroine" (The Wall Street Journal), Brooks blends love and learning, loss and renewal into a spellbinding and unforgettable read.