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Year of Wonders Paperback – 23 October 2002

by Geraldine Brooks (Author)

4.4 9,943 ratings

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From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of ‘March’ and ‘People of the Book’.

A young woman’s struggle to save her family and her soul during the extraordinary year of 1666, when plague suddenly struck a small Derbyshire village.
In 1666, plague swept through London, driving the King and his court to Oxford, and Samuel Pepys to Greenwich, in an attempt to escape contagion. The north of England remained untouched until, in a small community of leadminers and hill farmers, a bolt of cloth arrived from the capital. The tailor who cut the cloth had no way of knowing that the damp fabric carried with it bubonic infection.

So begins the Year of Wonders, in which a Pennine village of 350 souls confronts a scourge beyond remedy or understanding. Desperate, the villagers turn to sorcery, herb lore, and murderous witch-hunting. Then, led by a young and charismatic preacher, they elect to isolate themselves in a fatal quarantine. The story is told through the eyes of Anna Frith who, at only 18, must contend with the death of her family, the disintegration of her society, and the lure of a dangerous and illicit attraction.

Geraldine Brooks’s novel explores love and learning, fear and fanaticism, and the struggle of 17th century science and religion to deal with a seemingly diabolical pestilence. ‘Year of Wonders’ is also an eloquent memorial to the real-life Derbyshire villagers who chose to suffer alone during England’s last great plague.

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And so, as generally happens, those who have most give least, and those with less somehow make shrift to share.
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It is a great thing to be young and to live without pain. And yet it is a blessing few of us count until we lose it.
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For life is not nothing, even to the grieving. Surely humankind has been fashioned so, otherwise how would we go on?
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‘One of the best novels I’ve ever clapped eyes on’ Jenni Murray, Woman’s Hour

‘Geraldine Brooks’s impressive novel goes well beyond chronicling the devastation of a plague-ridden village. It leaves us with the memory of vivid characters struggling in timeless human ways with the hardships confronting them – and the memory, too, of an elegant and engaging story.’ Arthur Golden, author of ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’

‘Geraldine Brooks's ‘Year of Wonders’ is a wonder indeed. The novel gives the reader a remarkable glimpse into a 17th century horror, but does so with both compassion and exuberance. Read it for the inventiveness of the language alone – a genuine treat.’ Anita Shreve, author of ‘The Pilot’s Wife’ and ‘The Last TIme They Met’

'More than a mountain of corpses, more than a sensual evocation of the Sapphic bond between two women, more than a pulse-quickening tale, ‘Year of Wonders’ is a staggering fictional debut.' Guardian

‘’Year of Wonders’ carries absolute conviction as an evocation of place and mood. It has a vivid imaginative truth, and is beautifully written.’ Hilary Mantel

About the Author

Geraldine Brooks is the author of three novels, the Pulitzer Prize-winning March and the international bestsellers People of the Book and Year of Wonders. She has also written the acclaimed non fiction works Nine Parts of Desire and Foreign Correspondence. Born and raised in Australia, she lives on Martha’s Vineyard with her husband, Tony Horwitz, and their two sons.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ 4th Estate GB (23 October 2002)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 184115458X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1841154589
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13 x 2.13 x 19.71 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 59,296 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 154 in Social Fiction
- 606 in Urban Life Fiction
- 1,692 in British & Irish Literature

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4.4 9,943 ratings

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Geraldine Brooks

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Geraldine Brooks is the author of the novels The Secret Chord, Caleb's Crossing, People of the Book, March (which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2006) and Year of Wonders, recently optioned by Olivia Coleman. She has also written three works of non-fiction: Nine Parts of Desire, based on her experiences among Muslim women in the mideast, Foreign Correspondence, a memoir about an Australian childhood enriched by penpals around the world and her adult quest to find them, and The Idea of Home:Boyer Lectures 2011. Brooks started out as a reporter in her hometown, Sydney, and went on to cover conflicts as a Wall Street Journal correspondent in Bosnia, Somalia, and the Middle East. She now lives on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts with two sons, a horse named Valentine and a dog named Bear.

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MandyM

A book for the times

Reviewed in Australia on 15 May 2020

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I have had this book on my TBR list for a couple of years. I have read several of Geraldine Brooks’s other books and had not realised that this was her first novel. Her writing is fantastic and she is a great storyteller.

I was inspired to read this book now, as someone at work has started an “iso” book group, and this was the chosen book. For anyone who reads this review in the future, this is because we are in the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic and have all been socially isolated and working from home. This book is appropriate then as it deals with the plague epidemic of 1665-6 in the UK, and specifically the plague village of Eyam in Derbyshire. This village was stricken by bubonic plague, and took the unusual step of cutting itself off from the rest of the world to stop the spread of the disease. The villagers themselves suffered greatly, and many died.

We now know a great deal about this disease and how it is spread, but that was not the case in the 17th century. The story is told by Anna, who is a survivor- not only of the plague, but of other tragedies in her life. Her husband Sam is killed in an accident in his lead mine, a common occurrence in those days. She becomes great friends with the minister’s wife, Elinor, who teaches her to read. Anna has a very hard life but ends up happy and fulfilled, albeit far away from Derbyshire.

This is a story of love and loss and triumph over the odds. It is also historically interesting, being based on a true story. I found that much of it resonated strongly with our own situation in the current pandemic and it almost could have been written last week, not in 2011.

Highly recommended, especially for lovers of Geraldine Brooks’s work.

2 people found this helpful

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Gary Hart

A deadly tale!

Reviewed in Australia on 6 May 2019

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Love the language, and the intriguing story of a village in turmoil - death, misery, crime, faith and occult. Well worth a read!

Reviewed in Australia on 9 August 2018

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Geraldine Brooks is a superb writer using a minimum of words to create an evocative scene. Her writing paints mind pictures, her character studies bring the people to life. In Year of Wonders she blends a historic episode into a real narrative and gives an indepth picture of what life was like during the plague and how one community lived, loved and too often died. The story is woven around the lives of a number of the villagers and the reader is taken into the community to relive the times. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Very Highly. Thank you GB for an excellent book.

4 people found this helpful

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Anne Connolly

This writing is wonderful

Reviewed in Australia on 13 April 2024

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The people of the 17th century feel just like us. Brooks takes us back but we could very easily be there and the reason for that is the emotions in every character. Some strong women dominate, some are downright creepy and some men are weak, others loving. She, as did Shakespeare, captured all the things that make us human and she predicted the events of Covid 19 and they were so similar to the Plague. I loved this book, even though this was her very early work, she already had such a strong gift as a historian and writer of people's relationships.

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Lesley

A book that you will never forget.

Reviewed in Australia on 31 August 2023

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I loved the accuracy of the author's social details of the period. It was an amazing revelation of how tough times were in the 17th century for the poor. The storyline was nicely handled and included some shocking events.

Reviewed in Australia on 21 February 2018

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This book took me to a past event which I knew nothing about - 1666 plague. Not only it prompted me to learn about it, it also made it easy for me imagine what it might have been like to endure a year of plague. I found it an easy read, except for the first chapter because at that I didn’t know who is telling the story and about what. It is full of beautifully described human emotions and struggles. I left me feeling humble.

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ian Palmer

A compelling story in coronavirus times.

Reviewed in Australia on 7 September 2020

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This story is compelling and fascinating to read as we, in Victoria Australia, experience some of the most severe lockdown regulations in the world.There is much that we can relate to. Sadly the novel falls apart towards the end (that's my assessment) but still a worthwhile read and we all empathise with many of the characters.

Reviewed in Australia on 14 December 2019

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Beautifully written, wonderful characters, a truly spell binding story that I could not put down. I enjoyed the descriptions of the countryside and the contrast with the horrors of the plague. So many unusual words and historical details added to the tale.

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Rose

Fascinating Read

Reviewed in Canada on 7 September 2022

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Very well written book melding fact with fiction! Learned things about the plague that I was not aware of. Well researched.
Definitely a great read.

TA

Astounding

Reviewed in Germany on 8 December 2020

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It’s not just the eloquence of the language. It’s the surprising turns as life finds a way amidst the decay of death. One of the best reads in a long time.

2 people found this helpful

MB

Magnificent novel with the memory of the Black Death

Reviewed in India on 11 November 2020

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The Year or Wonders, what Dryden called Annus Mirabilis though in the backdrop of the traumatic civil war, here Brooks beautifully captures the year, the 1665 - the year when nearly 5000 people were dying in a week - the year of the Black Death. The Plague and the Great Fire of London erased one third of London's population in two successive years. Brooks in her novel portrays the role of women, and the ways to survive amidst the pandemic.
This is a magnificent novel.

However, I got a book with yellowed pages with pencil markings, which I do not like anyhow.

Keep reading. Keep engage in getting the orgasmes of the pleasures of reading a text.

Gill from Astley

Gill Johnson

Reviewed in Spain on 7 January 2017

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An excellent and delicate book to describe the horrors of the plague in the 16th Century outside London. A must buy!

htk

小説として面白く、ペストの実情も知ることができた

Reviewed in Japan on 26 March 2018

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１７世紀後半のイギリスの小村。無学で貧しい父と継母に育てられたアンは、夫を事故で失い、村の牧師夫妻の召使として二人の子供と暮らしていたが、そこにペストが流行する。次々と村人が死んでいく事態に、牧師は外部に病気が広がらないように村を閉鎖する。死の恐怖に直面した人々は魔女として無実の女性を殺すなど、迷信に走ったり酒びたりになったりする。アンも子供を失うが、その中で自分のとるべき行動を見出していく。たまたま同じようにペストを背景に展開し、ストーリー性が面白かったKen Follett のWorld Without Endを直前に読んでいたが、こちらは牧師の妻のエリノアにも助けられて内面成長をしていくアンが丁寧に描かれていて、終わりまで一気に読んだ。ペストの話は史実に基づいているそうだが、終わりがやや強引で、作者が自分の経験を無理やりに入れ込んだ印象があったので星を一つ下げた。

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