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(Throwback Review) Sarah Penner tells us the story of Nella, a female apothecary in London in the late 18th century who gives poisons to women to save them from the clutches of arrogant betraying men. She is very adamant that the poison should not be used on another woman. She also writes about her customers vividly in her register. The author also tells us the story of Caroline, who is a historian living in the present day. The narration jumps between the 18th century and the present. What happened to Nella? Was she able to escape without getting caught after all that she did? Are the lives of Nella and Caroline interconnected? Sarah Penner will give you the answer to all these questions through this novel.

What I learned from this book
1) Mudlarking
Mudlarking On the Thames has got a crucial role in this novel. It is during one Mudlarking episode that Caroline finds something unique that will change her life forever.
(Author's opinion about Mudlarking -)

"Finding something during the Mudlarking tour is surely fate."

2) History and women
History shows that it was more male-centric, and many famous historians have given women less importance. We can see that even when many Queens ruled a developed country like England, the women had almost no legal power in the past. Women's main job was to marry and look after their children. They were supposed to be seen and not heard. Nella and Eliza, the main characters, live in one such period while Caroline is a modern-day woman. We can see how even a new-age woman like Caroline took ten long years to understand the lies in her marriage. We can see that the attitude of men has changed a lot since the 18th century. The author says that men still have a long way to go through the marital relationship between Caroline and James.

“History doesn’t record the intricacies of women’s relationships with one another; they’re not to be uncovered.�

3) Marriage and importance of chasing your dreams
Marriage is not something that ties you down to a spot. It should be something that complements each other to catalyze your path towards your dreams. It is better to stay single than staying in a toxic relationship. Even in normal marital life, women are unfortunately forced to compromise in their dreams to look after the children and keep up the family dynamics right. Women are not tools for looking after the children or keeping the right family dynamics. Men have equal responsibility to do that. We can see how Caroline had to suffer and compromise her dreams after marrying James. Sarah Penner is giving us a strong message in an amazing way through this book.

"But I was tired of doing what I was supposed to be doing, tired of taking the practical, low-risk, responsible route. Instead, it was time for me to do what I wanted to do."

My favourite three lines from this book

“How had I only just learned that happiness and fulfillment were entirely distinct things?�

"Maybe I would have my head stuck in fairy tales, as James liked to joke, but wouldn't that still be better than the nightmare in which I now found myself?"

“The best apothecary was one who knows intimately the despair felt by her patient, whether in body or heart.�

What could have been better?
I am a person who believes in the principle of Primum non nocere . First, do no harm is one of the crucial principles that a doctor should try to follow in their life. The doctors shouldn't try to take this idea in the literal sense, though. (Try to read this excellent article from Dr. Robert H. Shmerling, Harvard health Publishing, if you want to know more about this topic-)

The idea of an apothecary trying to kill people who should be actually using her knowledge in saving lives by dispensing medicine to physicians and patients was not at all acceptable for me. The actions done by the apothecary in this novel are ethically wrong. I was sure that I wouldn't finish reading this book when I picked it up for reading due to my severe dislike of the plot.

Within 30 pages, the author told about three controversial things via her characters:
1) About history degree by criticizing about the value of it.

2) About literature by asking what good had the literature done in Caroline's life.

3) About medicine by criticizing doctors by saying that all the gentlemen's doctors in London are unprincipled and corrupt.

These three generalizations were too much for me, and I was planning to DNF this book at that time. But I still carried on reading. Contrary to my initial belief, the remaining book was a treat to read. I quickly finished reading it, and I simply loved it. It is only because of the excellent writing skills of the author. We will never feel that this is the debut writing venture of her. If the initial 30 pages were written a little more carefully, this book would have been a definite five-star one for me.

Rating
4/5 This book is dealing with a controversial plot. It will be challenging for a reader to connect with a murderer who is working in a profession where she should be saving lives. Making this character the protagonist in a novel could have easily backfired. Sarah Penner showed the courage to do that, and her amazing writing skills helped her create a wonderful book on her debut. The beauty of this book is that we can read it from two angles. The first one is that of historical fiction enmeshed with thriller elements. The second one is like a book written about female empowerment. This book will satisfy both types of readers. I am sure that we will see more amazing books from the author in the future.