Books Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague  by Geraldine Brooks (Author)

"Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague" by Geraldine Brooks is a historical fiction novel set in the English village of Eyam during the bubonic plague outbreak of 1665-1666. The story follows Anna Frith, a young widow with two sons, who becomes an unlikely heroine as the village voluntarily quarantines itself to prevent the plague from spreading to neighboring areas. After an infected bolt of cloth brings the disease from London, the plague quickly takes hold, causing widespread death and desperation among the villagers.

As the epidemic ravages the town, Anna evolves from a housemaid into a healer alongside the rector's wife, Elinor. The novel explores themes of faith, superstition, resilience, and the moral challenges faced by the villagers. The townspeople's struggle with grief, fear, and anger leads to tragic consequences, such as the persecution of Mem Gowdie and her niece Anys, who are accused of witchcraft and killed. Meanwhile, the rector, Michael Mompellion, urges the villagers to see their self-imposed quarantine as a spiritual test, though he himself grapples with personal doubts and losses.